the  Shadow 

Peril 


sonWade 


S.  EDWIN  CORLE,  JR. 

HIS  BOOK 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 
EDWIN  CORLE 

PRESENTED  BY 
JEAN  CORLE 


In  the  Shadow  of 
Great  Peril 


Horace  Atkisson  Wade  —  America's  Youngest  Author 


In  the  Shadow  of 
Great  Peril 

By 

Horace  Atkisson  Wade 


Preface  by 

George   Ade 


The  Reilly  &  Lee  Co, 
Chicago 


Copyright,  1920 

By 
The  Reilly  &  Lee  Co. 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Made  in  U.  8.  A. 


Published  February  5,  1920 
Second  Printing 


In  The  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 


- 


UPON  MEETING  YOUNG 
ME.  WADE 

IN  the  first  place,  there  must  be  no  ponderous 
unbending  to  our  fellow-craftsman,  merely 
because  he  is  eleven  years  of  age  instead  of  being 
on  a  diet.  Furthermore,  there  should  be  no 
apology  for  that  southern  manner  of  hospitality 
which  sends  one  down  the  roadway  to  meet  an 
author  before  he  has  arrived. 

One  style  of  preface  is  bumptious  and  con- 
descending in  that  it  unveils  to  the  reader  certain 
merits  of  the  book  which  he,  presumably,  never 
would  have  discovered  for  himself.  The  purpose 
of  this  introduction  is  not  to  explain  or  defend 
a  new  author.  He  comes  into  our  midst  abruptly, 
but  with  all  the  delightful  poise  of  the  most  recent 
model  of  Young  America.  He  wears  a  football 
suit  and  needs  no  elderly  protectors.  He  is  an 
author  because  he  chooses  to  be  one. 

Evidently  he  has  weighed  all  the  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  the  literary  career  and 
come  to  an  irrevocable  decision.  The  fact  of  his 
consecration  is  made  evident  because  he  con- 


eludes  Volume  No.  1  with  a  very  definite  promise 
of  Volume  No.  2,  including  the  title — which 
shows  the  sort  of  determination  before  which  even 
publishers  must  yield. 

Without  trespassing  upon  the  privileges  of 
Andrew  Lang,  may  not  the  writer  observe  that 
one  of  the  glaring  virtues  of  the  succeeding  nar- 
rative is  the  entire  absence  of  what  Mr.  Howells 
would  term  "Hollo  stuff."  There  could  be  noth- 
ing more  un-Rollo.  Master  Wade's  lads  wear 
freckles  and  aim  straight  for  the  jaw  with  every 
punch.  They  speak  the  vernacular.  They  are 
fibrous,  so  to  speak — heroic  without  being  mushy. 

They  are  young  persons  devoted  to  action 
rather  than  moody  self-analysis.  They  do  not 
sit  around  a  tea-urn  and  discuss  topics  which  are 
remote  from  their  mentalities.  Their  adventures 
are  not  held  up  by  descriptions  of  weather  and 
scenery. 

They  seek  the  strenuous  days  and  ha-ha  at 
danger — calm  in  the  presence  of  their  perse- 
cutors; modest  in  victory.  They  are  fond  of 
food  and  fighting — quite  Anglo-Saxon,  one 
might  say.  Regular  fellows! 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I    AT  BLACKWELL  HALL 11 

II    THE  BULLY  DISAPPEAKS 19 

III  STARTLING  NEWS 28 

IV  LIFE  OR  DEATH  1 36 

V    THE  MYSTERIOUS  KNOCK 44 

VI    UNWELCOME  VISITORS 54 

VII    LOST  IN  THE  BLIZZARD 61 

VIII    THE  TABLES  TURNED 67 

IX    HELD  FOR  RANSOM 75 

X    THE  OUTLAWS  BALKED 82 

XI    A  NARROW  ESCAPE 89 

XII    OUTWITTING  A  BOBBER 95 

XIII  A  DARING  ESCAPE 103 

XIV  A  MYSTERIOUS  LETTER 110 

XV    THE  RIDDLE  OF  THE  BOATHOUSE 118 

XVI    OFF  FOR  NEW  YORK 128 

XVII    A  DARING  RESCUE. 135 

XVIII    AN  INTERESTING  ADVENTURE 144 

XIX    THE  CAPTURE  OF  MR.  HARDING 150 

XX    A  HAPPY  REUNION 156 

XXI     THE  DOCUMENT  RECOVERED 162 

XXII  CONCLUSION  .                                    ...  168 


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Photograph    of  a  Page   of  the  Author's   Manuscript 


In  the   Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

CHAPTER  I 
AT  BLACKWELL  HALL 

"Blackwell!  Blackwell!  Blackwell!  Blackwell 
Hall!"  A  jolly  crowd  of  boys  were  coming  down 
the  road  in  a  coach  shouting  this  cry.  They  were 
just  returning  from  the  last  game  of  football  of 
the  season  and  had  won  by  a  score  of  six  to  two, 
giving  them  a  grand  total  of  six  victories  and 
two  defeats. 

"Dick,"  asked  Robert  Morris,  one  of  the  boys, 
"I  hope  we  win  the  cup  again  this  year  as  easily 
as  we  did  last  time." 

"So  do  I,"  agreed  Richard  Coleman;  "are  you 
going  to  try  for  the  baseball  team  next  year?" 

"Yes,  I  am  going  to  try  for  pitcher  on  the 
nine,"  replied  Bob.  "And  I  am  going  to  play 
second  base,"  said  Dick. 

"Oh,  listen  to  the  darling  little  boys  talking 

11 


12         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

about  baseball  already,"  sneered  Sam  Harding, 
"I  don't  believe  they  could  catch  a  ball  if  they 
had  to." 

Dick  half  rose  from  his  seat,  an  angry  flush 
mounting  his  cheeks. 

''Sit  down  Dick,"  cautioned  Bob,  "don't  you 
care  what  he  says." 

Dick  was  persuaded  to  sit  down,  and  then  there 
came  a  flash  of  silence.  During  this  time  I  will 
tell  you  something  about  Dick  Coleman's  and  Bob 
Morns'  history.  They  both  lived  in  the  small 
town  of  Spencerville,  New  York.  Bob's  father 
and  mother  were  living,  while  Dick's  parents  had 
died  when  he  was  only  a  few  years  old.  Mr. 
Morris  had  taken  care  of  him  and  had  developed 
them  both  into  strong,  healthy  boys.  Dick  was 
fifteen  years  old ;  he  had  black  hair  and  blue  eyes. 
He  was  of  the  average  height  and  weighed  117 
pounds.  Bob  Morris  was  of  the  same  age  as  Dick 
and  had  brown  eyes  and  black  hair;  was  of  aver- 
age height  and  weighed  120  pounds. 

Let  us  now  return  to  our  story. 

"There's  Blackwell,"  called  Charles  Darwin, 
who  was  otherwise  known  as  "Chuck." 

The  boys  were  soon  driving  into  the  yard  and 


At  Blackwell  Hall  13 

/ 

were  out  of  the  coach  before  it  had  stopped.  In 
ten  minutes  all  the  boys  were  in  their  rooms,  and 
as  Dick  and  Bob  entered  theirs,  Dick  turned  on 
Bob  and  asked  angrily,  ''Why  didn't  you  let  me 
pummel  Sam?  I  am  not  going  to  stand  there 
and  be  insulted." 

"I  don't  want  you  to  be  insulted,"  was  the 
reply  from  Bob,  "but  he  just  wants  to  get  you 
into  trouble,  and  then  he  can  tell  a  false  story 
about  the  fight.  I  heard  him  talking  to  someone 
and  I  heard  that." 

"I  wonder  why  Sam  wants  to  get  me  into 
trouble,"  murmured  Dick,  "I  don't  know  of 
anything  I  ever  did  to  him." 

"Well,"  answered  Bob,  "ever  since  you 
stopped  him  from  bullying  that  little  chap  he  has 
had  it  in  for  you. ' ' 

"I  wouldn't  stay  there  and  see  that  little  fel- 
low bullied,"  flared  up  Dick,  hotly,  "and  no  one 
with  any  honor  in  him  would." 

"And  I'll  agree  with  you  at  that,"  said  Bob. 

"Yes,  but  there  goes  the  dinner  bell,"  retorted 
Dick,  "and  I'm  as  hungry  as  a  wolf." 

"I  have  no  doubt  about  that,"  laughed  Bab, 
"we're  always  hungry." 


14          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

They  went  down  stairs  where  there  was  a  large 
table  and  sat  down  at  their  places.  They  ate 
everything  that  was  set  before  them,  which  is 
customary  with  boys.  In  twenty  minutes  they 
were  through,  and  as  they  were  rising  to  leave 
the  table  Mr.  Sumter,  the  captain  of  the  Academy, 
motioned  them  to  sit  down,  and  then  clearing  his 
throat  he  said  pleasantly:  "Boys,  I  have  some 
good  news  for  you.  In  this  football  season  you 
have  won  the  silver  cup  by  beating  Warwick  Hall 
by  a  score  of  seventeen  points. " 
i  He  sat  down  with  a  smile,  and  then  there  came 
a  loud  outburst  of  noise. 

"Boys,  boys,"  called  Mrs.  Carey,  the  cook  of 
the  Academy,  "go  outside  with  your  noise  or  you 
will  have  the  roof  tumbling  over  our  ears." 

The  boys  went  out  into  the  open  and  then 
Chuck  announced  joyfully,  "Just  think!  That 
makes  the  third  time  we  have  had  the  cup,  one 
year  after  another." 

They  all  stayed  out  for  a  half  hour  and  then 
they  went  in  to  study.  They  were  too  restless 
to  study  much,  and  Mr.  Sumter  smiled  to  himself 
and  then  said,  "I  see  that  you  are  too  restless 
to  work  so  1*11  leave  you  off  this  evening." 


At  Blackwell  Hall  15 

/ 

They  all  put  aside  their  books  with  a  sigh  of 
relief.  They  went  back  into  the  school  yard  and 
stayed  there  until  seven  o'clock.  The  group 
started  to  dwindle,  and  then  Bob  and  Dick  went 
up  to  their  room.  They  read  books  for  awhile, 
and  then  Bob  yawned  and  said,  "Good  night, 
Dick,  I  am  going  to  turn  in." 

"I've  just  been  waiting  for  you  to  say  that," 
smiled  Dick  in  return. 

The  two  boys  undressed  rapidly  and  hopped 
into  bed.  In  a  few  more  minutes  they  were  sound 
to  sleep,  and  slept  soundly  all  the  night.  They 
awoke  early  next  morning  and  were  soon  dressed. 

44 Someone  is  out  before  us,"  said  Dick,  as  he 
looked  out  of  the  window,  "I'll  bet  I  could  guess 
who  it  is?" 

"Who!"  queried  Bob,  with  a  grin,  as  he  sat 
down  in  a  chair,  which  was  beside  the  window. 

"It  is  Sandy,  Chuck  and  Fred,"  guessed  Dick. 

"Righto,"  laughed  Bob,  springing  up. 

Dick's  answer  was  a  laugh,  and  then  after  see- 
ing that  it  lacked  a  half  hour  from  breakfast  they 
trooped  downstairs  and  ran  out  into  the  yard. 
They  saw  the  boys  looking  into  the  sky  and  they 
also  glanced  upwards  and  saw  masses  of  black 


16          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

clouds  scurrying  overhead.  Just  then  their 
chums  turned  around  and  noticed  Bob  and  Dick. 
They  hurried  over  to  them,  and  Chuck  burst  out : 
"Do  you  see  all  the  dark  clouds?  That  means 
snow  or  I'm  not  living." 

"How  do  yon  know!"  asked  Bob,  with  a  sur- 
prised glance  at  Chuck's  face  to  see  whether  he 
was  joking  or  not. 

"My  father  told  me  how  to  tell  about  the 
clouds  before  we  came  here,"  answered  Chuck. 

Dick  to  show  his  joy  turned  some  handsprings 
but  ended  by  sprawling  on  the  ground.  Suddenly 
the  sun  was  blotted  out  by  a  cloud,  and  then  a 
few  flakes  of  snow  fell.  It  was  soon  falling  in 
earnest,  and  then  Sandy  remarked,  "My  but  I 
hope  this  keeps  up  all  day."  But  he  was  destined 
to  disappointment,  for  in  barely  ten  minutes  the 
sun  was  shining  brighter  than  ever  as  though  to 
make  up  for  lost  time,  and  the  snow  soon  dis- 
appeared, but  not  before  Dick  had  had  his  face 
washed.  Just  then  an  appetizing  odor  of  coffee 
and  pancakes  came  out  to  them  and  they  hurried 
in  to  eat.  The  boys  were  through  in  twenty 
minutes,  and  after  that  as  they  were  just  about 
to  rise  from  the  table,  Mr.  Sumter,  the  captain 


At  Blackwell  Hall  17 

of  the  Academy,  rose  from  his  place  and  said: 

"Boys,  I'm  called  away  for  the  day,  and  while 
I'm  gone  I  will  give  you  a  holiday."  He  sat 
down  with  a  smile. 

A  buzz  of  excitement  ran  around  the  table,  but 
they  soon  rose  and  walked  out  to  the  yard,  and 
Sam  Harding  said  to  Chuck: 

"I  don't  see  why  Mr.  Sumter  has  to  go  and 
leave  the  Academy  for." 

"Oh,  think  about  something  cheerful  for  once 
in  your  life,"  grinned  Chuck. 

Just  then  Bob  and  Dick  were  seen  advancing 
and  Sam  turned  on  his  heel  and  walked  off. 

"He's  a  sorehead,"  grimaced  Chuck  as  they 
came  up  to  him;  and  after  the  three  chums  had 
talked  with  each  other  a  few  moments  he  left  also. 

"Let's  have  a  game  of  football,"  said  Bob,  as 
he  displayed  a  football  which  belonged  to  him. 

The  two  boys  went  into  an  open  place  and 
proceeded  to  kick  the  ball  to  each  other.  About 
in  the  middle  of  their  fun  Sam  came  up,  and  as 
the  ball  by  mistake  came  over  to  him  he  grabbed 
it.  "Kick  the  football  here,"  said  Dick,  in  a 
pleasant  tone. 

"Come  and  get  it,"  replied  Sam,  with  a  sneer- 


18         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

ing  smile  creeping  over  his  face.  Dick  advanced, 
but  as  he  came  near,  Sam  kicked  the  ball  far 
down  the  field. 

"What  did  you  do  that  for?"  asked  Dick,  as 
an  angry  flash  came  into  his  eyes. 

"I'm  not  a  slave,  and  I  wasn't  going  to  throw 
it  to  you,"  sneered  Sam,  as  he  started  off. 

Dick  came  in  front  of  Sam  and  wheeling  him 
around  said  in  a  crisp,  clear  tone,  "Go  get  that 
ball." 

"I  won't,"  said  Sam,  and  his  face  grew  as 
dark  as  a  thunder  cloud. 

"Then  I'll  make  you,"  replied  Dick,  quietly. 

"Come  and  do  it,"  sneered  Sam,  as  he  threw 
off  his  coat. 

"Dick,"  said  Bob,  as  he  came  up,  "Don't  fight 
Sam,  come  on  with  me,"  and  he  tugged  at  Dick's 
arm. 

"Leave  go,  Bob,"  ordered  Dick,  "I'll  show 
this  fellow  that  he  isn't  the  only  one  about  this 
Academy. ' ' 

"Fellow,"  said  Sam,  glaring  at  Dick  with 
hatred,  "I'll  show  you  how  to  call  me  'fellow'," 
and  his  right  arm  shot  out,  hitting  Dick  square 
in  the  mouth. 


When  Sam  hit  Dick  in  the  mouth  he  expected 
to  have  Dick  off  his  guard,  but  as  his  next  blow 
was  about  to  fall  on  Dick's  head,  Dick  put  up  his 
guard  and  with  his  right  arm  jabbed  Sam  in  the 
eye.  Sam  was  frenzied  to  a  white  heat  and  he 
rushed  madly  into  the  fight.  All  Dick  did  for 
awhile  was  to  stop  the  hurricane  of  blows  that 
fell  upon  him.  As  he  saw  a  break  in  Sam's 
guard  he  let  both  his  arms  fly  out.  One  arm  hit 
Sam  again  in  the  eye,  half  closing  it,  and  the 
other  connected  with  Sam's  jaw,  felling  him  to 
the  ground.  Sam  would  have  had  to  give  up 
right  then  had  not  Mr.  Sumter  come  around  the 
corner. 

" Stand  up,"  he  ordered  Sam,  as  his  face  grew 
gray,  for  fighting  was  not  to  be  tolerated,  and 
might  end  in  a  month's  expulsion  from  the 
Academy.  Sam  came  to  his  feet  and  Dick  and 
him  stood  stiffly  before  Mr.  Sumter. 

19 


20          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"Who  started  this?"  asked  the  captain  of  the 
Academy. 

"Dick  did." 

"Sam  did." 

was  the  reply  from  the  two  boys.  Mr.  Sumter 
smiled  to  himself  and  then  thought,  "There's  no 
need  of  asking  who  won.  Sam's  face  tells." 
"Boys,"  continued  the  captain,  "I'll  give  you 
till  tomorrow  morning  to  own  up,"  and  turning 
on  his  heel  he  left  the  two. 

"So  you  have  to  lie  to  get  out  of  it,"  sneered 
Dick,  in  disgust,  as  he  turned  toward  Sam,  only 
to  find  that  that  individual  had  walked  off. 

Dick  walked  over  to  Bob  who  was  eying  Sam 
in  disgust. 

"My,  but  he's  a  skunk,"  he  declared,  as  Sam 
turned  the  corner  of  the  Academy  and  disap- 
peared. Dick,  with  a  sad  smile  said,  "I  guess 
all  that  can  happen  is  that  I'll  be  expelled." 

"Not  if  I  can  help  it,"  vowed  Bob  angrily. 

The  two  boys  went  after  the  ball  and  then 
brought  it  into  the  Academy.  As  they  came  out 
they  met  Chuck  and  Sandy. 

"Hello  Bob,  hello  Dick,"  they  called,  but  on 
seeing  the  sad  faces  of  both,  they  asked : 


The  Bully  Disappears  21 

"What's  the  matter  with  you,  you  look  as  glum 
as  oysters?" 

The  story  was  soon  told  and  Chuck's  voice 
snorted  his  disgust.  At  last  Chuck  said: 

"If  they  lose  you  from  the  Academy  they  will 
be  losing  a  good  cadet." 

The  boys  strolled  around  the  yard  ror  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour.  After  this  Dick  and  Bob 
went  up  to  their  room,  but  in  half  an  hour  came 
down  again  and  were  met  by  Chuck,  who  said: 
"I've  been  home  and  my  mother  said  she  wanted 
you  to  come  down  and  eat  lunch  with  us."  Bob 
and  Dick  accepted  and  they  started  for  Chuck's 
home.  As  they  were  going  out  of  the  grounds 
Chuck  stopped  short  in  his  tracks  and  then  said 
to  the  boys,  "You  wait  here,  I  am  going  back 
and  bring  Fred  and  Sandy  with  me. ' '  He  turned 
back  and  went  up  to  Fred's  room.  He  softly 
opened  the  door  and  looked  in  but  did  not  find 
anybody.  As  he  turned  to  go  out  he  heard  a  soft 
pit-a-pat  on  the  stairs. 

"That  must  be  Fred,"  thought  Chuck,  "but 
I  don't  see  why  he  has  to  walk  so  softly.  I'll 
just  stay  here  and  watch, ' '  and  going  into  Fred 's 
room  he  peeked  out  into  the  hall.  As  he  looked 


22          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

lie  saw  Sam  come  creeping  stealthily  along. 
There  was  something  in  his  hand  which  he 
clutched  tightly.  As  Sam  came  by  Chuck,  he 
saw  what  it  was.  It  was  Mr.  Sumter's  valuable 
diamond  pin.  "I  wonder  how  he  got  that?" 
gasped  Chuck,  and  his  breath  was  nearly  taken 
away.  He  watched  Sam  with  renewed  interest. 
He  saw  him  go  up  to  Dick's  room,  and  after 
making  sure  that  no  one  was  inside,  he  softly 
opened  the  door.  Chuck  stole  up  behind  him, 
and  soon  Sam  came  out  again  and  gazed  nerv- 
ously on  all  sides.  Chuck  had  just  enough  time 
to  burst  into  another  room  that  was  near  by. 
Then  Sam  went  down  the  aisle. 

''What's  the  matter,  Chuck?"  asked  a  merry 
voice  behind  him,  making  that  distinguished  in- 
dividual wheel  around  swiftly. 

"Hello  Sandy,"  grinned  Chuck  sheepishly. 

"What's  the  big  idea  of  all  this?"  asked 
Sandy,  gazing  curiously  at  Chuck,  as  though 
thinking  he  had  gone  out  of  his  head.  Chuck 
drew  a  chair  up  beside  Sandy  and  told  all  he 
had  seen.  He  finished  off  with,  "I  thought  for 
a  moment  Sam  had  left  the  diamond  pin  on 
Dick's  dresser,  but  I  don't  think  he'd  do  that." 


The  Bully  Disappears  23 

i 

"That  remains  to  be  seen — and  anyhow  where 
did  Sam  get  the  pin?"  and  Sandy  gazed  triumph- 
antly up  at  Chuck. 

The  two  boys  went  up  to  Dick's  room  and 
opened  the  door.  After  a  short  search,  Sandy 
opened  a  drawer  in  the  dresser,  and  gave  a 
surprised  cry.  Chuck  hurried  up  to  him  and 
looking  into  the  drawer  also  gave  a  cry  of 
exultation.  For  lying  in  the  drawer  was  Mr. 
Sumter's  diamond  pin. 

"Sam  put  that  there  beyond  a  doubt,"  ex- 
claimed Chuck.  "I  didn't  think  he  would  be  as 
mean  to  do  that,  but  he  has  only  gotten  himself 
into  hot  water.  My  but  that  fellow  has  a  yellow 
streak  through  him." 

They  went  down  stairs  and  ran  into  the  kitchen. 
Here  they  met  Mrs.  Carey,  the  cook. 

"Have  you  seen  Mr.  Sumter  yet?"  they  asked 
politely. 

"No,  but  I  got  a  phone  call  from  him.  He  is 
at  his  home  in  Glenwood  now. ' ' 

The  two  boys  walked  out  despondently.  Out- 
side they  found  Fred,  and  all  three  started  to 
where  they  had  left  Bob  and  Dick.  As  they 
came  near  they  saw  them  walking  down  the  road 


24          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

kicking  up  the  dust  before  them.  As  they  turned 
around  and  saw  the  group  they  stopped  and  waited 
for  them. 

"Gee,  I  thought  you'd  never  come,"  said  Bob. 

As  they  walked  on  Sandy  pulled  out  his  hand- 
kerchief, and  in  doing  so  the  pin  fell  out  also. 

"You  lost  something,  Sandy,"  said  Dick,  who 
had  picked  the  pin  up,  and  then  with  a  startled 
exclamation  he  asked,  "Where  in  the  world  did 
you  get  this?" 

Sandy,  on  seeing  the  pin,  called  Dick  to  him  and 
conversed  softly  for  a  few  moments.  Dick's  face 
grew  vivid  with  astonishment.  As  Sandy  stopped 
he  stared  fixedly  at  his  face,  then  he  hurried  up 
to  the  boys  and  told  them  all  about  it. 

"I  didn't  think  that  Sam  would  do  that,"  said 
Bob  in  intense  disgust. 

As  they  stood  there,  Sandy  gave  a  cry  and  said, 
"Dick,  I  meant  to  tell  you  before,  but  I  saw  the 
fight,  and  if  you  need  me  I  will  testify  in  your 
behalf." 

Soon  after  this  they  all  went  along  with  lighter 
hearts.  In  a  little  while  they  reached  Chuck's 
house  and  were  welcomed  by  a  motherly  looking 
lady.  She  embraced  each  of  them,  and  gave  Chuck 


The  Bully  Disappears  25 

a  big  hearty  kiss.  The  boys  sat  down  in  the  parlor 
while  Mrs.  Darwin  bustled  around  to  get  dinner 
ready.  As  the  odor  of  ham  and  eggs  was  wafted 
out  to  them  they  could  hardly  restrain  themselves 
from  rushing  into  the  kitchen  to  watch  the  meal 
being  fixed.  In  half  an  hour  Mrs.  Darwin  ap- 
peared at  the  door,  which  divided  the  parlor  from 
the  dining  room,  and  with  a  smile  she  informed 
them  that  dinner  was  ready.  A  short  while  later 
they  were  all  sitting  down  to  a  delightful  repast. 

''Now/'  asked  Mrs.  Darwin,  "  which  one  of  you 
had  a  fight  with  Sam  Harding?" 

'  *  It  was  Dick, ' '  chorused  all  the  boys.  Dick  was 
made  to  rise,  and  when  he  did  he  stammered  out, 
''Where — how  did  you  know  I  had  a  fight?" 

' '  Chuck  told  me, ' '  she  smiled. 

Chuck  then  told  his  mother  what  had  happened 
during  the  morning.  As  he  did  so  they  showed 
her  the  pin. 

"He  must  be  a  bad  boy,"  she  said,  "and  I  want 
you  to  keep  away  from  him." 

"We  don't  go  round  much  with  him,"  said 
Chuck,  as  he  smiled  at  the  surprised  look  that  was 
on  his  mother's  face,  "but  what  shall  we  do  with 
this  pin?" 


26          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"As  soon  as  dinner  is  over,  you  ge  straight  to 
Glenwood  and  give  that  pin  to  Mr.  Sumter,"  was 
the  decided  answer. 

Soon  after  this  the  boys  started  to  the  railroad 
station  and  bought  their  tickets.  They  paced  up 
and  down  the  platform  in  thejr  restlessness,  and 
what  added  more  to  this  was  because  the  train 
was  half  an  hour  late.  As  the  train  stopped  at 
the  station  the  boys  hopped  on.  They  spent  a 
restless  hour,  for  this  was  the  time  it  took  to  get 
to  Glenwood.  As  the  train  came  into  the  station 
they  were  the  first  out.  With  all  the  speed  they 
could  summon  they  ran  to  the  captain's  home. 
As  they  came  panting  into  the  front  yard  Mr. 
Sumter  met  them.  He  led  them  inside  and  they 
dropped  down  in  chairs  until  they  could  get  their 
breath  again.  In  a  few  minutes  they  brought  out 
the  pin  and  showed  it  to  him.  "So  you  stole  the 
diamond  pin  and  didn't  have  nerve  enough  to 
keep  it,  eh?"  said  Mr.  Sumter  sternly.  An  angry 
flush  came  to  their  cheeks. 

"No,  sir,  that's  not  true,"  answered  Bob,  and 
here  they  told  their  story.  Mr.  Sumter  stroked 
his  chin  for  a  moment  and  then  said,  "I  believe 
you.  Wait  here  for  a  moment,  and  I'll  go  back  to 


The  Bully  Disappears  27 

the  Hall  with  you."  He  went  out  of  the  room, 
but  soon  came  back  with  his  coat  and  hat.  They 
went  to  the  station  and  just  managed  to  get  the 
train  that  they  were  to  take  for  home. 

In  an  hour  they  arrived  at  the  Hall.  They  all 
went  into  Mr.  Sumter's  private  office,  and  Mrs. 
Carey  said  that  Sam  was  not  feeling  well  and  had 
gone  to  his  room.  He  was  summoned  and  came 
down  stairs  with  a  pale  face  and  shaking  voice. 
As  he  saw  the  boys  his  face  turned  ashen.  He  was 
questioned  until  he  could  stand  it  no  longer  and 
made  a  clean  confession.  He  was  given  back  his 
money  and  told  to  leave  the  school  immediately. 

As  he  started  to  go  out  his  face  whitened  with 
rage,  and  turning  upon  Dick  he  said  angrily,  "  You 
brought  this  on  me,  you  confounded  coyote,  and 
I  will  get  even  with  you,"  and  with  these  threat- 
ening words  he  strolled  out  of  the  room  with  broad 
steps.  The  boys  soon  followed  him,  and  as  he 
went  out  they  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"We  are  through  with  him  now,"  said  Bob,  but 
they  were  not  by  a  long  shot,  for  just  as  he  had 
finished  speaking  a  pistol  rang  out,  Fred  dropped 
to  the  ground,  and  a  dark  figure  leaped  over  the 
wall! 


CHAPTER  III 
STAKTLING  NEWS 

The  attack  on  them  was  so  sudden  that  they 
were  speechless  for  a  moment,  but  as  they  saw 
the  figure  leap  over  the  wall  they  awoke  to  their 
senses  and  darted  off,  leaving  Sandy  to  take  care 
of  Fred.  They  made  out  a  figure  in  front  of  them 
and  started  after  him. 

"He's  going  for  the  woods,"  said  Dick;  "get 
him  before  he  gets  there."  The  boys  crawled  up 
foot  by  foot,  and  were  soon  in  speaking  distance 
of  the  figure. 

"Stop  or  we  will  get  you,"  cried  Bob  as  he 
gave  a  spurt.  The  figure  turned  and  waved  his 
fist  at  the  boys  and  set  off  faster  than  ever.  ' '  That 
was  Sam,"  blurted  Bob;  "we've  got  to  get  him." 

The  woods  were  near  now  and  Sam  gave  a  final 
spurt  and  reached  them  a  good  ten  yards  ahead 
of  the  boys.  He  turned  around  and  gave  one 
more  mocking  grimace  and  then  burst  into  the 
woods.  When  the  boys  came  they  also  burst  into 

28 


Startling  News  29 

them,  but  after  fifteen  minutes  gave  it  up  in  de- 
spair and  started  for  the  Hall  despondently. 

As  they  were  passing  a  tree  something  hit  Dick 
in  the  back  of  the  head.  Dick  glanced  upward  and 
looked  all  around  and  then  his  eye  was  attracted 
by  a  wad  of  paper.  He  pounced  upon  it  as  a  cat 
pounces  upon  a  mouse.  He  hastily  unrolled  it 
and  read:  "Don't  try  to  find  me  or  you'll  get 
hurt.  I  have  others  to  help  me." 

Dick  showed  it  to  the  boys  and  they  looked  all 
around  for  a  trace  of  Sam,  but  could  find  none, 
and  once  more  started  off  for  the  Hall.  As  they 
entered  the  captain's  office,  he  saw  their  crest- 
fallen faces  and  knew  that  Sam  was  not  found. 
After  the  story  had  been  told  to  him,  the  boys 
then  asked  how  Fred  was. 

"He's  all  right,"  was  the  cheerful  answer;  "he 
was  only  hurt  in  the  leg.  He'll  be  all  right  in  a 
week  or  so." 

After  this  Bob  gave  a  sour  grimace  and  said, 
"I  wouldn't  care  about  Sam  escaping,  only  that 
we  might  have  passed  right  under  the  tree  where 
he  was  perched." 

"In  his  note  he  says  that  he  has  someone  to 
help  him — so  force  against  force — we'll  be  ready 


30         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

to  help  you  whenever  you  need  it,"  said  Chuck, 
and  a  nod  of  approval  came  from  the  boys. 

Fred  had  now  opened  his  eyes  and  stared 
around  him.  They  turned  their  attention  to  him, 
and  Dick  came  awkwardly  forward  and  said, 
"I'm  the  cause  of  this.  That  bullet  was  meant 
for  me,  and  I  am  very  sorry  that  you  are  the  one 
that's  hurt." 

"Oh,  bosh,"  smiled  Fred,  as  he  gave  a  twitch  of 
pain,  "you  must  be  sick  to  talk  that  way." 

They  helped  Fred  up  the  stairs  and  brought  him 
to  his  room,  where  they  stayed  all  through  the 
rest  of  the  afternoon.  As  the  dinner-bell  rang 
they  helped  Fred  down  the  stairs.  He  was  the 
center  of  curiosity,  and  it  was  plain  to  see  that 
they  knew  about  the  adventure  of  the  afternoon. 
They  crowded  about  him  and  made  him  tell  the 
story  again  and  again. 

George  Redney  of  all  the  cadets  was  the  only 
one  who  scrowled  at  the  boys.  He  edged  up  to 
one  of  the  boys  that  was  listening  and  said,  "I 
suppose  that  they'll  think  they  are  the  whole 
cheese  now." 

"You  wouldn't  dare  to  say  that  before  them," 
said  the  boy,  as  he  turned  coldly  upon  George. 


Startling  News  31 

"They're  all  fools,  all  of  them,"  sneered  George. 

They  all  sat  down  at  the  table  now,  and  in  half 
an  hour  George  Redney  stole  out  of  the  room. 
When  he  had  gotten  out  into  the  hall  he  felt  in 
his  pocket  and  brought  out  a  piece  of  paper  which 
had  hand-prints  all  over  it.  It  read, ' '  I  will  meet 
you  at  the  old  wall.  We  '11  get  even  with  the  whole 
bunch. — Sam." 

"I'll  get  even  with  them  all,  I  will,"  vowed 
George  angrily. 

He  went  up  to  his  room  and  put  all  his  things 
in  a  valise  and  then  softly  crept  downstairs.  Just 
as  he  came  down,  Sandy  came  into  the  hall. 

"Hello,  George,  where  are  you  going?"  he 
asked  in  a  puzzled  tone.1 

"No  place  that  concerns  you,"  said  George 
angrily,  and  scrowled  darkly  at  being  seen.  He 
walked  out,  and  Sandy  scratched  his  head  and 
thought  deeply. 

"I  wonder  where  he  is  going,"  thought  Sandy. 
"  I  'm  going  to  follow  him. ' ' 

He  stole  out  after  George,  and  after  he  had 
gotten  a  reasonable  distance  to  the  back  of  him, 
he  took  up  the  task  of  following  George.  He  saw 
him  go  up  to  the  wall  and  heard  him  give  a  peculiar 


32          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

whistle.  Scarcely  had  he  finished  when  Sam  came 
from  the  other  side  of  the  wall  and  they  conversed 
together  for  a  moment.  Then  shaking  their  fists 
at  the  Academy  they  locked  arms  and  walked  on. 

* '  They  are  up  to  mischief,  ' '  thought  Sandy.  '  *  I 
wish  I  had  the  boys  with  me,  but  if  I  turn  back 
now  they'll  get  away." 

After  following  them  far  away  they  plunged 
into  the  woods.  Sandy  could  get  closer  now  with- 
out being  seen,  and  so  he  came  up  as  near  as  he 
dared.  After  a  walk  of  nearly  forty-five  minutes 
they  came  into  a  small  clearing.  A  tent  stood  in 
the  middle  of  it,  and  in  the  darkened  entrance  of 
it  a  fire  could  be  seen. 

' '  So  this  is  their  hiding  place, ' '  grinned  Sandy, 
as  he  got  behind  some  brush,  so  he  could  not  be 
seen.  "Well,  it  won't  be  soon,  if  I  can  help  it. ' ' 

Just  as  he  had  gotten  comfortably  fixed,  the 
same  peculiar  whistle  that  George  had  used  came 
from  the  woods. 

"Here  comes  Dad,  Ted  and  Bill  now,"  said 
Sam,  as  he  answered  them  with  a  whistle.  In  a 
couple  of  moments  two  big,  burly  men  broke  into 
the  clearing. 

The  man  Sam  had  called  Bill  did  not  appear. 


Startling  News  33 

"When  do  we  start  to  get  even  with  those 
kids!"  asked  Ted  Brown,  one  of  the  men. 

"We'll  get  even  with  them,  don't  fear," 
growled  George.  '  *  We  '11  show  them  who 's  who. ' ' 

"So  Sam  has  to  get  a  crowd  to  help  him,"  said 
Sandy  to  himself,  "but  we'll  be  ready  for  them — 
we'll  be  ready,"  and  he  gave  a  silent  snort  of 
disgust. 

"Where's  Bill?"  asked  Sam,  as  he  gazed  at  the 
two  men. 

"Oh,  hang  that  fool,"  swore  Ted;  "he  wouldn't 
take  the  money  we  offered  him.  He  said  it  wasn't 
enough,  but  we  can  get  along  without  him." 

They  talked  in  light  tones  for  a  moment,  and 
Sandy  leaned  forward  to  hear  what  they  were 
saying.  But  it  was  a  fatal  move  for  our  hero, 
for  his  foot  stepped  on  a  twig  and  his  red  hair 
bobbed  up  and  down  and  Sam  saw  it.  He  whis- 
pered softly  to  George  and  walked  into  the  woods. 
Sandy  had  lain  still  for  awhile,  but  thinking  that 
he  was  not  discovered  he  looked  at  the  camp  again. 
George  was  sitting  near  the  fire  with  apparently 
an  unsuspecting  look  on  his  face.  In  a  few  min- 
utes Sandy  heard  a  light  tramping  behind  him, 
and  turning  around  swiftly  he  saw  Sam  advancing 


34         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

cautiously.  As  Sam  saw  that  he  was  discovered, 
he  gave  a  whistle  and  leaped  forward  upon  Sandy. 
George  sprang  up  and  dashed  into  the  under- 
growth. The  two  boys  finally  got  Sandy  down  on 
his  face,  but  not  before  a  long  tussle.  George 
whipped  out  a  rope  and  quickly  tied  Sandy's 
hands  behind  him.  Forcing  him  to  his  feet  they 
marched  him  into  camp.  The  two  men  jumped 
to  their  feet  and  looked  at  Sandy,  and  then  at  Sam 
for  explanations. 

"This  is  one  of  those  boys,"  said  Sam,  and  he 
gave  Sandy  a  push  that  sent  him  forward  on  his 
face,  while  the  men  laughed  harshly. 

"Maybe  we'll  get  something  from  him/'  bit- 
terly laughed  Sam's  father,  as  he  picked  Sandy 
up  and  stood  him  on  his  feet.  For  one  moment 
Sandy  thought  of  flight  and  gazed  anxiously  about 
him,  but  then  with  a  sinking  of  his  heart  he  real- 
ized that  his  hands  were  tied  behind  him,  and  that 
his  enemies  blockaded  him  on  all  sides.  Sam 
noticed  Sandy's  anxious  glances,  and  with  a  sneer 
said,  "You  won't  get  away  from  here  in  a  hurry; 
we'll  show  you." 

They  cut  Sandy's  bonds  and  grimly  ordered  him 
to  follow  them. 


Startling  News  35 

This  he  did,  and  followed  them  for  a  couple  of 
miles.  Then  they  came  into  another  clearing 
where  a  log  cabin  stood. 

They  bound  Sandy  hand  and  foot  and  brought 
him  into  the  cabin  and  laid  him  on  the  floor.  After 
this  they  went  out,  leaving  Sandy  in  the  shanty. 

"He's  all  right.  Now  for  the  others,"  said 
Sam's  father,  as  he  lighted  a  cigarette  and  care- 
lessly threw  the  match  away.  They  then  plunged 
into  the  woods,  and  soon  left  the  clearing  behind 
them. 

After  Sandy  had  been  in  awhile  the  smell  of 
smoke  came  to  him.  After  a  few  moments  the 
smoke  increased  in  volume  and  then  Sandy 
thought,  "Could  they  have  been  such  villians  to 
burn  the  hut  with  me  in  it?"  and  his  face  paled. 
Soon  his  thought  came  true,  for  Sandy  saw  a 
menacing  flame.  For  the  match  that  Sam's  father 
had  thrown  away  had  fallen  in  a  pile  of  rubbish 
and  the  shanty  was  on  fire  with  Sandy  inside  of  it ! 


CHAPTER  IV 
LIFE  OR  DEATH? 

We  will  leave  the  boy  in  the  burning  shanty  for 
awhile  and  return  to  the  Hall. 

*  *  Sandy  had  better  be  hurrying  back, ' '  suggested 
Bob,  "or  he'll  never  get  here  in  time  for  study. 
He  promised  me  that  he  would  be  back  in  a  few 
minutes." 

The  minutes  dragged  on  and  the  boys  could 
stand  the  suspense  no  longer.  They  hurried  up 
to  the  top  of  the  steps  and  waited  there  a  little 
while.  After  this  they  went  up  to  Sandy's  room 
and  gazed  in.  What  was  their  astonishment  to 
find  no  one  there. 

"Oh,  well,  he'll  be  here  with  us  in  time,"  said 
Dick  cheerfully,  and  they  once  more  started  down 
stairs.  When  the  study  period  came  neither 
Sandy  or  George  were  there.  After  Mr.  David- 
son, the  professor,  had  waited  patiently  for  them 
to  come,  he  ordered  two  of  the  boys  to  go  up  and 
get  them.  In  a  couple  of  minutes  they  returned 

36 


Life  or  Death?  37 

and  said  they  were  not  there.  All  the  boys  scat- 
tered around  the  Academy  hunting  for  them,  and 
when  they  once  more  assembled,  with  the  informa- 
tion that  they  could  not  find  them,  this  put  a  dif- 
ferent light  on  the  matter. 

"Boys,  I  want  you  to  organize  a  searching  party 
and  find  Sandy  and  George,"  said  Mr.  Davidson. 

There  was  a  buzz  of  excitement  as  they  got  their 
ballots  ready,  and  when  the  results  were  an- 
nounced it  was  found  that  all  of  our  friends  were 
to  go.  When  they  left,  Mr.  Davidson  gave  each  a 
friendly  slap  on  the  shoulder  and  said  kindly, 
"I'm  trusting  you  to  find  your  companions,  and 
I  hope  that  no  evil  has  befallen  them." 

"So  do  we,"  echoed  the  boys,  as  they  plunged 
boldly  into  the  darkness. 

Bob  took  out  a  box  of  matches  and  lit  one.  He 
searched  around  on  the  ground  and  suddenly  gave 
a  cry  of  exultation,  and  as  they  were  all  peering 
down  at  the  ground  the  match  flickered  out.  They 
scratched  another  and  the  boys  saw  some  foot- 
prints. 

"Those  are  Sandy's  and  here's  George's," 
said  Bob,  pointing  to  them. 

"Yes,  you're  right,"  said  Dick,  as  he  looked 


38          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

closely  at  the  footprints.  Just  then  the  match  gave 
a  final  spurt  and  went  out. 

"We'll  need  torches  if  we  want  t»  do  this  kind 
of  work,"  said  Bob,  as  he  struck  another  match. 
They  found  for  themselves  pieces  of  wood  and 
plastered  them  over  with  tar.  These  they  lighted, 
and  they  flared  up  redly  in  the  night. 

They  followed  the  footprints  until  they  came  to 
the  woods,  and  now  they  followed  the  trail  by 
brush  that  was  broken.  After  a  long  while  they 
came  into  the  clearing  where  Sandy  had  been  cap- 
tured. 

"Someone  has  been  here,  and  not  so  long  ago 
either,"  said  Chuck,  as  he  kicked  a  glowing  ember 
out  of  his  path. 

Suddenly  Bob  suspiciously  sniffed  the  air. 

"Can  you  smell  the  smoke?"  he  asked;  "it 
seems  as  though  there's  a  fire  round  here." 

"There  is,"  yelled  Dick  excitedly,  and  following 
his  direction  they  looked  into  the  sky.  The  fire 
cast  a  red  glow  against  the  horizon,  and  so  could 
be  seen  easily. 

They  ran  on  towards  the  glow,  and  as  they  ran 
it  got  more  vivid.  Suddenly  after  nearly  half  an 
hour's  run  they  came  into  the  clearing  where  the 


Life  or  Death?  39 

burning  shanty  stood.  As  they  looked  at  it  they 
heard  a  moan  from  the  inside. 

"Did  you  hear  that,"  asked  Chuck,  startled,  as 
he  looked  at  the  boys.  Again  came  a  low  moan. 

"That's  Sandy's  voice,"  said  Dick  with  shaking 
tones. 

"And  he's  in  the  burning  shanty,"  finished  Bob 
as  his  face  blanched. 

Just  then  they  glanced  at  Dick  again,  and  he 
said  in  a  trembling  voice,  "There's  only  one  thing 
to  do  and  I'll  do  it."  He  peeled  off  his  coat  and 
rest. 

"That's  suicide,"  yelled  Chuck,  as  he  jumped 
forward  to  try  and  stop  Dick  before  he  took  his 
mad  rush  into  peril,  for  they  all  knew  in  an  instant 
what  he  was  going  to  do.  He  was  a  second  too 
late,  for  Dick  had  rushed  toward  the  burning 
shanty,  and  apparently  unconscious  of  the  danger 
surrounding  him  he  dashed  headlong  into  the 
darting  flames.  They  lapped  about  him  and  the 
smoke  hurt  his  eyes,  but  he  kept  on  his  perilous 
attempt  at  rescue. 

His  strength  was  fast  ebbing  out  and  he  called 
faintly,  "Sandy,  where  are  you?"  He  heard  a 
groan  oyer  to  his  right,  so  he  changed  his  course 


40         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

and  stumbled  along  in  that  direction.  Suddenly 
he  tripped  and  fell  flat. 

After  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  he  managed  to 
rise  and  he  bent  over  to  see  what  it  was  that 
tripped  him.  After  a  second,  with  a  leaping  heart, 
he  made  out  the  figure  of  a  boy.  He  tugged  at  it, 
for  he  was  sure  that  it  was  Sandy.  He  moved 
Sandy  a  little,  and  then  after  a  moment  managed 
to  grab  him  and  threw  him  over  his  back.  He 
staggered  on  with  his  heavy  burden,  and  he  grew 
weaker  each  moment. 

It  seemed  hours  before  he  saw  the  light  of  the 
outside,  although  in  reality  it  was  but  a  few 
moments.  With  a  final  spurt  he  dashed  into  the 
outside  and  then  fainted  dead  away. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  shanty,  which  was  now 
a  wall  of  living  flames,  sank  hissing  to  the  ground. 
They  waited  for  Dick  to  become  conscious  again, 
which  he  did  in  about  half  an  hour.  His  first 
impulse  was  to  glance  at  the  smouldering  embers, 
and  with  a  shudder  had  visions  of  himself  and 
Sandy  lying  under  them.  He  then  asked  in  a 
hoarse  whisper: 

"Is  Sandy  all  right?" 

"He's  been  badly  burnt,  but  I  believe  he  will 


Life  or  Death  ?  41 

pull  through,"  said  Chuck,  whose  father  was  a 
doctor. 

After  Dick  had  been  laying  still  for  awhile  they 
started  back  for  the  Academy.  Dick  protested 
strongly  against  being  carried,  and  Chuck  let  him 
have  his  own  way.  A  queer  smile  hovered  about 
his  lips  when  Dick  fell  back  again. 

"Chuck,  you'd  better  go  back  to  the  Academy 
first  and  get  a  doctor,"  said  Bob.  "Get  your  own 
father  if  you  can." 

Chuck  dashed  ahead  and  then  Bob  picked  up 
Dick  and  Sandy  gently  and  all  slowly  followed 
Chuck. 

In  nearly  two  hours  they  arrived  at  town  and 
were  soon  in  the  Hall.  They  put  the  boys  who 
were  burnt  under  the  doctor's  care,  who  put 
salve  and  ointment  on  their  wounds. 

The  next  morning  Dick  was  able  to  rise  and 
move  around,  but  was  still  a  little  stiff.  During 
the  middle  of  the  day  a  blizzard  started  and  the 
snow  came  down  furiously.  The  boys '  heads  were 
jammed  against  the  window-pane  in  Bob's  room, 
as  they  thought  of  the  fun  they  would  have.  The 
snow  increased  in  fury  and  did  not  stop  until  late 
that  night. 


42          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

The  next  day  was  Saturday  and  Bob  pulled  his 
coat  farther  up  over  his  face  and  with  a  shiver 
said,  "My  but  it's  cold— I'll  be  frozen  stiff  soon." 

"And  I  don't  blame  you,"  said  Chuck,  who  had 
just  entered  the  room;  "the  temperature  is  only 
15  above  zero  and  steadily  going  down.  They  are 
skating  on  the  lake  today.  Mr.  Sumter  said  he 
went  over  and  tested  the  ice." 

The  boys  all  gave  a  joyous  yell  and  ran  for  their 
skates.  They  all  went  downstairs,  helping  Sandy 
because  of  his  burns,  and  then  giving  a  seat  at 
the  window  to  him  they  dashed  for  the  pond.  A 
little  while  later  there  were  more  boys  *there  and 
then  the  fun  went  up  to  its  highest  height. 

After  nearly  half  an  hour  they  all  went  up  to 
one  end  of  the  pond  and  then  skated  back.  Sud- 
denly the  ice  that  Fred  was  crossing  broke  and 
he  was  thrown  into  the  icy,  chilly  waters.  Dick, 
who  was  the  nearest,  threw  his  stick  in  the  water 
and  Fred  clutched  madly  at  it.  They  had  all  hur- 
ried up  now  and  in  a  short  while  Fred  was  out  of 
the  water  and  lying  on  the  ice.  They  rubbed  his 
body  to  get  the  circulation  started  while  Bob  and 
Dick  inspected  the  hole  in  the  ice  through  which 
Fred  had  slumped. 


Life  or  Death?  43 

"You  said  that  the  ice  was  thick,"  said  Bob 
sternly,  as  he  turned  upon  Chuck. 

"I  can't  see  how  this  ever  happened,"  was  the 
puzzled  reply  from  Chuck;  "I  was  pretty  sure 
that  it  was  thick."  He  looked  all  around  the  hole 
and  suddenly  gave  a  shout.  To  the  astonished 
gazers  he  held  up  a  knife. 

"Here's  the  initials  *S.  H.'  on  it— do  you  know 
who  that  is?" 

After  a  moment's  speculation  Chuck  again  said, 
"It  might  be  Sam  Harding." 

"I'll  bet  it  is,"  shouted  Dick,  "but  how  did  he 
get  on  the  ice  without  us  seeing  him?" 

"He  must  have  come  on  while  we  were  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  lake,"  replied  Bob. 

"Look  where  it's  cut,  too,"  yelled  Chuck. 

Looking  closely  at  the  hole  they  could  clearly 
see  that  the  ice  had  been  cut. 

"Well  of  all  the  things,"  said  Dick  in  an  amazed 
tone;  "my,  but " 

But  on  one  ever  knew  what  he  was  going  to  say, 
for  just  then  Mrs.  Carey,  the  cook,  came  out  in  a 
fluster  of  excitement  and  said,  "Boys,  come  quick ; 
Mr.  Sumter  is  lying  on  his  face  in  the  middle  of 
Ms  office  and  there's  a  pool  of  blood  around  him !" 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  MYSTERIOUS  KNOCK 

At  this  startling  announcement  the  boys  were 
rendered  speechless  for  a  moment.  When  the 
situation  really  came  to  them  they  all  set  off  in  a 
dash  toward  the  Academy.  They  bolted  into  the 
office  and  bent  over  the  prostrate  captain,  who 
was  now  showing  signs  of  reviving  consciousness. 
A  short  while  later  he  opened  his  eyes  and  then  a 
doctor  edged  his  way  through  the  crowd  of  boys. 
After  a  close  examination  he  pronounced  the 
wound  not  dangerous,  thus  taking  a  load  of 
anxiety  off  the  boys'  minds.  After  having  fixed 
his  head  he  left. 

"How  did  this  happen?"  asked  one  of  the  boys, 
excitedly. 

Mr.  Sumter  began  to  tell  his  story  to  the  boys 
and  said :  "I  was  writing  at  my  desk  when  a  man 
came  in.  He  was  dressed  like  a  tramp  and  I  asked 
him  what  he  wanted  of  me.  He  then  asked  me  if 
I  had  room  for  another  pupil,  and  my  answer  was 

44 


The  Mysterious  Knock  45 

'yes.'  He  questioned  me  about  the  cost  and  gave 
me  a  wad  of  money  and  said  he  wanted  his  son  to 
be  in  the  school  for  one  year.  I  turned  around  and 
got  his  change  for  him,  but  as  I  wheeled  around 
again  I  was  confronted  by  the  menacing  muzzle 
of  a  gun.  I  also  grabbed  at  a  pistol,  which  was  in 
one  of  my  desk  drawers,  but  before  I  could  get  it 
he  pulled  the  trigger  of  his  gun,  and — that's  all 
I  know. ' ' 

"Did  he  get  your  money!"  asked  one  of  the 
boys. 

"Why,  I  had  forgotten  all  about  that— I'll  see," 
and  with  this  Mr.  Sumter  opened  the  drawer  in 
his  desk. 

"Well,  he  got  all  that  was  in  this  drawer,"  he 
said  ruefully. 

"Not  much,  I  hope,"  said  Dick  sympathetically. 

"No,  thank  goodness,  I  put  most  of  my  money 
in  the  safe — he  only  got  $13." 

' '  How  big  was  the  man  f ' '  asked  Sandy,  who  had 
been  silent  up  to  this  time. 

"Why  he  about  six  feet  three  inches  tall," 
was  the  answer  of  Mr.  Sumter. 

"Did  he  have  black  eyes?" 

"Yes." 


46         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"A  long  nosef" 

"Yes." 

4 'Brown  hair? " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Sumter,  now  getting  excited. 

"And  discolored  teeth!" 

"Yes,  I  saw  his  teeth  when  he  talked." 

"And  a  scar  on  his  right  cheek?" 

"Yes.    Have  you  ever  seen  him?" 

"I  ought  to  have  seen  him,"  was  the  startling 
reply  from  Sandy;  "that's  Sam  Harding 's 
father." 

"Sam  Harding's  father!" 

The  exclamation  came  from  all  of  the  small 
group  of  listeners. 

"Yes,"  continued  Sandy. 

"I  guess  that  Sam  means  trouble,"  said  Dick 
quietly,  "but  we  will  be  ready  for  him  at  any 
time." 

There  were  no  more  adventures  that  day  nor 
Sunday,  but  when  Monday  came  Bob  and  Dick 
met  a  group  of  sad  boys  out  in  the  corridor. 

"Why,  boys,  what's  the  matter?"  they  asked 
with  puzzled  voices. 

"Haven't  you  heard?"  asked  Sandy;  "Chuck 
has  scarlet  ferer.  Mr.  Sumter  broke  out  with  it 


The  Mysterious  Knock  47 

first,  and  then  Chuck  caught  it  from  him.  If 
anybody  else  catches  it  the  Academy  will  have  t* 
close/* 

The  morning  passed  slowly  and  tiresomely,  and 
.when  the  afternoon  came  three  more  boys  were 
reported  to  have  been  added  to  the  searlet  fever 
list.  All  the  boys  moved  around  slowly  and 
despairingly. 

That  night  there  were  seven  more  on  the  scarlet 
fever  list. 

"  Well,"  said  Fred,  as  he  hung  his  head,  "school 
closes  tomorrow.  I  heard  the  health  officer  say 
so." 

The  boys  went  into  their  rooms  with  a  gush  of 
sadness  coming  over  them.  Early  the  next  morn- 
ing all  the  boys  were  packed  and  ready  to  start 
for  home,  as  soon  as  the  word  was  passed.  Around 
nine  o'clock  the  health  officers  came  and  shut  up 
the  Academy. 

As  they  passed  out  of  the  gate,  Dick  looked  back 
at  the  Academy  and  said  solemnly,  "It  seems  as 
though  our  best  friend  has  died." 

There  was  a  short  silence,  and  then  Dick  asked, 
"What  are  you  going  to  do  this  winter,  Predf  " 

"I  don't  know,"  was  the  rueful  reply  from 


48         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

Fred;  "my  parents  have  gone  to  Europe,  and  I 
suppose  I  '11  go  to  a  hotel. ' ' 

"Boh,  come  here  a  moment,"  said  Dick;  "I 
want  to  speak  to  you.'* 

The  hoys  held  a  whispered  conference  for  a 
moment  and  then  joined  Fred. 

"Why  don't  you  come  home  with  us  and  spend 
the  winter?"  said  Dick;  "we'll  all  he  glad  to  have 


you. ' ' 


'Are  you  sure  it  will  he  all  right?"  asked  Fred, 
as  a  bright  look  came  over  his  face,  replacing  the 
dull  one. 

"Of  course;  come  along,"  said  Boh,  laughing. 

"Well,  I'll  go  then,"  said  Fred  happily. 

The  boys  soon  reached  the  train  and  in  a  short 
while  were  speeding  off  toward  home.  They 
reached  Spencerville  a  half  hour  later  and  they  all 
got  off. 

"Where  do  you  live?"  asked  Fred,  as  he  looked 
aroand  the  platform. 

Dick  came  to  the  rescue  and  said,  "We  live  six 
miles  out  of  town  on  a  farm." 

They  engaged  a  horse  and  buggy  and  were  soon 
riding  off  towards  home.  After  a  long  ride  they 
saw  a  neat  little  cottage  before  them. 


The  Mysterious  Knock  49 

" Here's  where  we  live,"  said  Bob,  as  he  jumped 
out  of  the  buggy. 

They  were  soon  at  the  door  and  rushed  into  the 
house.  Mrs.  Morris  came  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  and  when  she  saw  the  boys  she  was  speech- 
less for  a  moment.  After  finding  her  breath  she 
exclaimed,  "What  are  you  doing  here? — I  thought 
you  were  at  school." 

"We'll  tell  you  all  about  that  later,"  said  Dick, 
"but  right  now  we  all  are  hungry  as  wolves." 

"Why  I  should  have  known  that,"  said  Mrs. 
Morris  with  a  smile;  "that  isn't  a  surprise,  for 
you  are  always  hungry.  Just  go  out  to  the  wood- 
pile and  cut  me  some  wood,  and  when  you  come 
back  I  will  have  something  for  you." 

The  boys  were  soon  at  the  task  of  cutting  wood, 
and  after  cutting  a  boxful  they  hurried  back  into 
the  house. 

A  few  minutes  later  they  were  sitting  down  to 
an  appetizing  meal  of  ham  and  eggs,  flapjacks 
and  honey. 

"You  are  one  of  the  best  cooks  I've  ever  seen, 
Mrs.  Morris,"  said  Fred  to  that  distinguished 
person.  Mrs.  Morris  just  gave  him  a  hug  and  an 
extra  dish  of  flapjacks.  When  the  boys  had  eaten 


50         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

all  they  could  hold  they  rose  and  went  outside  and 
showed  Fred  around  the  farm.  Then  they  re- 
turned to  the  house. 

"Why,  hello  boys!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Morris,  who 
had  come  in  while  they  were  showing  Fred  around 
the  farm. 

"Why,  hello  Dad,"  called  Bob,  as  he  rushed 
forward. 

They  sat  around  by  the  fire,  and  then  Mr.  Morris 
asked,  "Tell  me  some  of  your  adventures,  boys." 

All  the  tale  was  told  and  Mr.  Morris  stroked  an 
imaginary  beard  for  a  moment. 

"That  Sam  ought  to  be  put  in  jail,"  he  said. 

"That's  what  I'm  thinking,  only  we  haven't 
anything  real  bad  against  him,"  was  the  answer 
from  Bob. 

Mr.  Morris  soon  went  to  the  farm-yard  and  the 
boys  followed.  Barely  had  they  gotten  into  the 
fresh  air  when  there  was  a  jingling  of  bells  and 
two  or  three  sleighs  came  up  the  street  gliding 
over  the  snow. 

"There  goes  the  men  on  their  snow  trip,"  said 
Bob,  as  he  gazed  after  them. 

"What  about  this  snow  trip?"  asked  Fred, 
puzzled. 


The  Mysterious  Knock  51 

"Oh  they  are  going  out  on  a  hike  to  the  woods, 
and  are  going  to  stay  there  all  winter,*'  was  the 
answer. 

"Why,  why,  can't  we  go  to  the  woods  and  spend 
the  winter? — it  would  be  fun,"  broke  out  Fred. 

"By  cracky,"  yelled  Bob,  as  he  jammed  his  fist 
into  the  palm  of  his  hand,  "you  are  right  about 
that.  I '11  ask  mother." 

In  a  few  moments  he  came  out  with  a  shining 
countenance  and  said,  "She  says  we  can  if  dad 
agrees." 

They  ran  into  the  farm-yard  and  here  they 
found  Mr.  Morris. 

"We  want  to  ask  you  if  we  can  go  on  a  winter 
hike  —  we'll  be  gone  about  two  weeks  —  can  we 
go?"  queried  Bob,  anxiously. 

"Boys,  I  don't  see  why  you  couldn't;  nothing 
will  harm  you,"  answered  Mr.  Morris,  as  he  went 
into  the  house. 

"How  did  you  think  of  that?"  asked  Dick  joy- 
ously, as  he  pounded  Fred  upon  the  back;  "we'll 
have  some  fun  now." 

"Where  are  we  going  to  stay?"  asked  Bob ;  "we 
need  a  place  to  live  in  out  there." 

"We'll  ask  Mr.  Morton,"  said  Dick,  after  a 


52          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

moment's  speculation,  "to  rent  us  his  place  out  in 
the  woods." 

"That's  just  the  thing,"  and  they  all  started 
for  Mr.  Morton's  house. 

After  a  long  walk  they  came  upon  another  farm 
house.  They  went  up  the  stairs  and  rang  the  hell. 
It  was  opened  hy  a  pleasant-faced  man,  and  to 
their  question  he  replied:  "I'll  rent  it  to  you  for 
nothing  if  you  promise  to  keep  it  in  good  order." 

They  eagerly  promised,  and  then  hurried  down 
the  stairs  again. 

' '  Now  the  next  question  is :  when  do  we  start  I ' ' 
asked  Fred. 

"We'll  start  next  week,"  said  Bob;  "we  need 
some  time  to  get  fixed  up." 

As  they  started  off  towards  home,  Dick  gave  a 
surprised  cry  and  asked,  "Why  not  ask  Sandy 
to  come  with  us — the  more  the  merrier,  as  the  old 
saying  is. ' ' 

After  arriving  at  home,  they  hitched  the  horse 
to  the  buggy  and  drove  off  towards  town.  When 
they  reached  there  they  immediately  went  to  the 
telegraph  office  and  sent  a  telegram  to  Sandy.  In 
a  little  less  than  an  hour  the  return  message  came 
in  over  the  wires. 


The  Mysterious  Knock  53 

"He  can  come,"  shouted  Bob  joyously,  as  he 
tore  open  the  envelope  and  read  the  contents; 
'  *  listen  to  what  he  says : 

"  'Will  be  with  you  tomorrow. — Sandy.' 

The  boys  went  home  and  all  that  day  planned 
on  the  fun  they  were  going  to  have.  Next  day 
Sandy  arrived  and  there  was  a  happy  meeting. 
The  rest  of  the  week  was  spent  in  getting  ready 
for  the  trip.  When  Monday  really  came  the  boys 
were  all  ready  for  their  proposed  outing.  They 
had  hired  a  sleigh  to  carry  their  provisions  for 
them  and  this  was  already  on  its  way. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  boys  started  and  hiked 
for  two  or  three  hours,  and  soon  came  into  a  clear- 
ing in  which  a  large  log  cabin  stood.  They  went 
in  and  saw  that  all  their  provisions  were  there. 
They  fixed  up  things  for  awhile,  and  when  they 
had  finished  Sandy  mopped  his  brow  and  said, 
"I'm  going  out  and  look  around." 

When  Sandy  had  gone,  Fred  asked  joyfully, 
"Don't  it  seem  good  to  have  a  place  where  you 
are  not  going  to  be  bothered  every  other  minute  ? ' ' 

Scarcely  had  the  words  come  out  of  his  mouth 
when  a  couple  of  loud  knocks  came  on  the  door! 


CHAPTER  VI 
UNWELCOME  VISITORS 

"Sandy  has  just  gone  out.  I  wonder  why  he  is 
coming  back  so  soon?"  said  Bob,  as  he  rushed  to 
the  door  and  drew  the  bolt. 

The  door  was  pushed  open  and  a  man,  an  utter 
stranger  to  the  boys,  stepped  into  the  room  and 
glared  around. 

"Get  me  something  to  eat,"  the  man  ordered 
roughly. 

"Pretty  good  customer  to  deal  with,"  whis- 
pered Fred  to  Dick. 

"What  are  you  kids  whispering  about?"  in- 
quired the  man  suspiciously;  "get  me  something 
to  eat,  and  be  quick  about  it,"  and  with  this  he 
pulled  out  a  gun  and  held  it  in  his  hand. 

"Now  get  busy,"  he  scrowlingly  ordered.  The 
boys  would  have  rushed  the  man,  but  when  they 
saw  the  gun,  and  looked  into  the  man's  hard  fea- 
tures, they  decided  it  was  best  to  obey  orders.  It 
took  them  only  a  few  minutes  to  fix  something  and 

54 


Unwelcome  Visitors  55 

they  gave  to  the  man  who  ate  it  ravenously.  After 
this  he  ordered  the  boys  to  fix  something  for  him 
to  take  away.  The  boys  were  going  to  refuse  when 
they  saw  Sandy  sneaking  up  from  the  back. 

"We'll  fix  you  something,"  said  Bob  hastily, 
and  turned  quickly  around,  but  keeping  Sandy  in 
eye-sight.  All  at  once  Sandy  hit  the  floor  as  hard 
as  he  could,  and  the  man  turned  around.  Quick 
as  lightning,  Bob  was  running  for  the  man's  feet, 
and  the  man  turned  again  to  see  what  was  hap- 
pening. He  was  knocked  to  the  floor  and  the  gun 
slipped  from  his  grasp.  Sandy  grabbed  for  the 
gun  and  when  the  man  rose  he  was  confronted  by 
the  menacing  muzzle  of  it. 

"Don't  be  careless  with  that  gun,  or  it  might 
go  off,"  said  the  man  scrowlingly. 

"It  would  be  better  for  you  if  it  did  go  off," 
grinned  Sandy. 

"Sit  down,"  he  then  commanded. 

The  man  sat  down  sullenly,  and  the  boys  set 
to  the  task  of  tying  him.  When  the  man  was 
securely  tied  the  boys  started  to  fix  up  their  own 
lunch.  They  untied  the  man's  hands  and  gave  him 
something  more  to  eat.  After  that  they  went  out 
leaving  Bob  to  take  care  of  the  cabin. 


56         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"Leave  me  out  of  this,  and  I'll  give  you  ten 
dollars,"  cried  the  man  artfully. 

"Keep  your  breath,"  laughed  Bob,  "and  don't 
try  that  on  me." 

In  an  hour  the  boys  came  in  and  then  Dick  took 
care  of  the  prisoner; 

"Our  friend  has  been  offering  me  money  to  let 
him  escape,"  laughed  Bob  to  his  chums. 

"He  might  as  well  save  his  breath,"  laughed 
Fred. 

The  afternoon  wore  on  quickly  and  then  the 
boys  fixed  supper. 

The  night  soon  came  on,  and  the  boys  went  to 
bed.  The  next  morning  they  were  all  up  early, 
and  were  soon  dressed. 

"I  wonder  how  our  prisoner  is  getting  along," 
grinned  Sandy  slyly.  Sandy,  Bob  and  Dick  went 
into  the  other  room  and  were  met  by  a  great  sur- 
prise. The  prisoner  was  gone! 

The  boys  were  then  interrupted  by  a  cry  from 
Fred.  They  hurried  to  the  door  and  Fred  pointed 
to  the  ground. 

"Somebody  has  been  here  last  night,"  muttered 
Fred,  for  on  the  ground  were  tracks  that  could  not 
have  been  there  very  long. 


Unwelcome  Visitors  57 

"I  just  wonder  who  it  was!"  asked  Sandy  in  a 
perplexed  tone. 

They  closed  the  door  and  went  inside  the  cabin 
again.  They  fixed  breakfast,  but  during  the  meal 
Dick  was  silent. 

''Cheer  up,  Dick,"  grinned  Fred;  "what's  on 
your  mind!" 

"I  can't  understand  why  the  boys  who  untied 
that  man  never  took  any  food." 

"Dick,  you're  crazy!"  exclaimed  the  others  in 
one  breath. 

"I  may  be  mistaken,"  was  the  answer,  "but 
until  I  have  proof  that  it  wasn't  a  boy  I'll  stick 
to  what  I've  said." 

"If  they  were  boys,  have  you  any  idea  who  they 
were?"  asked  Fred. 

"Yes,"  was  the  decided  answer. 

"Then  who  was  it?" 

"It  was  Sam  Harding." 

"Sam  Harding,"  exclaimed  the  boys  in  one 
breath. 

' l  Yes,  and  George  Redney  was  with  him. ' ' 

The  boys  were  silent  for  a  minute  and  they  could 
not  have  been  more  surprised  had  a  bombshell 
burst  among  them. 


58         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

" If  that's  true,  I  would  like  to  know  what  Sam 
and  George  are  doing  around  here,"  hlurted  out 
Bob  at  length. 

"Well,  we  are  as  near  solving  that  question  as 
we  were  before,"  grinned  Sandy,  "so  I  move  that 
we  go  outside  and  do  something." 

They  went  out  and  had  a  snow  fight,  and  when 
they  returned  to  the  cabin  a  few  hours  later  they 
were  as  hungry  as  bears.  After  eating  dinner 
they  went  back  into  the  woods. 

"Let's  try  and  get  some  fresh  meat,"  suggested 
Dick;  "I'm  getting  tired  of  canned  goods." 

This  suggestion  was  met  with  howls  of  approval, 
and  the  boys  went  back  into  the  cabin.  After 
polishing  the  guns  until  they  shone  like  the  sun, 
the  boys  started. 

"I'm  going  to  get  a  rabbit,"  cried  Dick  with 
delight.  They  walked  for  a  ways  and  then  sepa- 
rated. Dick  soon  saw  a  rabbit  and  he  shot  it.  He 
walked  a  little  farther  and  then  saw  something 
that  looked  like  a  cat.  He  shot  at  it,  but  the  bullet 
only  grazed  the  wildcat's  shoulder,  for  that  was 
what  it  was.  With  a  ferocious  yell  the  animal 
jumped  at  Dick.  Before  Dick  could  shoot  again 
the  wildcat  was  upon  him. 


Unwelcome  Visitors  59 

"Help!  help!"  called  out  Dick  as  loud  as  he 
could.  In  a  few  minutes  he  heard  a  trampling  in 
the  brush,  but  not  until  the  wildcat  had  scratched 
him  several  times.  In  a  few  seconds  Fred  broke 
in  on  the  scene,  closely  followed  by  Bob  and  Sandy. 
Bob  raised  his  gun  and  pulled  the  trigger.  Bang ! 
and  the  wildcat  fell  over  dead.  The  boys  started 
to  their  cabin  while  Dick  limped  along  behind. 
When  they  reached  the  cabin  they  found  the  door 
open. 

"I  know  that  I  closed  this  door  tight,"  said 
Fred,  "just  before  we  left" 

"Maybe  you  were  mistaken,"  suggested  Sandy; 
"come  on  in."  And  the  boys  followed  him  into 
the  cabin. 

Fred  happened  to  go  to  the  cupboard  just  then, 
and  made  a  startling  discovery. 

"The  provisions  aren't  here,"  he  cried. 

"Not  there!"  exclaimed  the  boys  excitedly. 

"No,  they  are  not  here.  Somebody  came  in 
while  we  were  gone  and  took  them." 

The  boys  were  silent  for  a  moment  and  then 
Bob  rejoined.  "Boys,  we  can't  starve.  Let's  go 
to  town  and  get  some  more  food — the  walk  will  do 
us  good." 


60         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"I'm  too  shaken  up  to  go  now,"  said  Dick,  "so 
you  go  to  town  while  I  stay  here  and  take  care 
of  the  cabin." 

In  half  an  hour  the  boys  jogged  off  on  their  way. 
A  while  later  Dick  went  to  the  window  and  looked 
out. 

"My,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "it  looks  like  a 
blizzard." 

As  he  kept  looking  at  the  sky  it  kept  getting 
darker  and  darker.  All  of  a  sudden  some  snow- 
flakes  fell.  They  were  soon  followed  by  others, 
and  after  five  more  minutes  there  was  a  regular 
blizzard  raging. 

"I  hope  that  Bob  and  the  boys  find  a  place  to 
stay,"  murmured  Dick. 

In  half  an  hour  the  snow  was  coming  down  so 
thick  that  he  could  not  see  a  foot  ahead  of  him. 
Dick  was  getting  worried  as  the  moments  passed, 
but  suddenly  there  came  a  sharp  knock.  "That's 
them,  I  suppose,"  said  Dick  joyfully.  He  went  to 
the  door  and  opened  it. 

But  instead  of  the  boys  entering,  the  man  they 
had  held  captive  but  a  short  time  ago  stepped  into 
the  room. 

"So  we  meet  again,"  he  sneered. 


CHAPTER  VII 
LOST  IN  THE  BLIZZARD 

Returning  to  the  boys  who  started  for  town. 

"Look  at  that  sky!"  said  Sandy. 

They  looked  toward  the  sky  for  a  moment  and 
then  Bob  said,  "It  looks  like  a  blizzard,  so  we  had 
better  hurry. ' ' 

The  boys  quickened  their  pace  and  started  off 
at  a  brisk  walk.  As  the  sky  grew  darker  and 
darker,  Sandy  said,  "Boys,  this  is  going  to  be  the 
real  thing;  I'm  going  to  try  and  find  shelter 
before  it's  too  late." 

They  looked  on  either  side  of  them  but  could 
see  nothing.  In  a  few  more  minutes  the  snow 
started  to  fall  and  the  boys  ran  as  fast  as  they 
could.  The  snow  came  down  faster  and  faster,  but 
soon  the  boys  saw  something  that  looked  like  a 
dark  mass  of  wood.  They  ran  still  faster  and  soon 
saw  the  outlines  of  a  cabin. 

They  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  hut,  but  no 
answer  came  to  them.  After  knocking  at  the  door 

61 


62         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

a  few  times  more,  they  took  the  liherty  of  opening 
the  door  and  looking  in. 

"No  one  here,"  said  Fred;  "let's  go  in." 

They  went  in  and  saw  an  old  table  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  room.  There  were  four  old 
chairs  sitting  around  the  room,  and  Bob  said, 
"One  thing  about  this  place  is  that  they  don't  use 
much  style." 

The  boys  went  to  the  cupboard  and  opened  it. 
Inside  they  found  a  pile  of  food. 

"I'm  going  to  fall  to,"  grinned  Sandy,  and 
started  to  dispose  of  a  loaf  of  bread.  When  they 
had  eaten  their  fill  and  had  put  the  things  away 
again,  they  heard  a  noise  outside. 

Looking  out  Bob  saw  some  men  and  boys  com- 
ing toward  the  shack.  After  gazing  at  them  for  a 
moment,  Bob  cried,  "Hide  some  place,  quick." 

"Why "  started  Fred!. 

"Hide  quick  before  they  get  here,"  and  without 
saying  a  thing  more  Bob  ran  for  an  old  closet. 
The  boys  got  into  the  closet  and  closed  the  door. 
In  a  few  minutes  they  heard  someone  say,  "That's 
a  bad  storm  to  be  out  in." 

"Why  that's  George  Redney's  voice,"  whis- 
pered Sandy,  startled. 


Lost  in  the  Blizzard  63 

"Boys,  look  here,"  said  Bob  after  awhile,  and 
he  pointed  to  a  hole  in  the  door.  They  each  looked 
through  it  and  could  see  George  Redney,  Sam 
Harding 's  father  and  another  man. 

"That's  a  tough  gang,"  said  Bob;  "I  wonder 
where  Sam  is?" 

The  boys  listened  a  little  longer  and  then  heard 
their  names  pronounced. 

"They  must  have  it  in  for  us,"  laughed  Sandy 
softly. 

"They  surely  had,  and  I  would  rather  put  my- 
self to  the  mercy  of  the  snow  than  to  the  mercy 
of  these  crooks,"  said  Bob,  "and  here  goes." 

He  walked  softly  to  the  other  side  of  the  closet 
and  opened  a  window.  He  soon  got  out  and  was 
also  followed  by  Fred  and  Sandy. 

"Gee,  it's  cold,"  shivered  Fred,  putting  his 
hands  down  in  his  pockets  for  warmth. 

They  went  on  their  way  to  town  again — half 
stumbling,  half  walking. 

"I  can't  go  much  farther,"  said  Fred;  "I'm 
tired  out." 

"We  are  near  town,"  encouraged  Bob,  "so  try 
to  go  on  a  little  more."  He  then  added,  "Gee,  the 
snow  is  so  thick  you  can't  see  a  foot  ahead  of  you. ' ' 


64         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

They  walked  on  a  while  longer  and  then  Bob  said, 
"I  can't  understand  it.  We  should  have  been  in 
town  a  long  time  ago." 

No  answer  came  to  him  and  he  turned  around 
and  tried  to  peer  into  the  white  mass  of  snow. 

"Fred!  Sandy !"  he  called  anxiously,  but  the 
wind  choked  his  voice  so  it  could  not  carry  far. 
Bob  turned  around  and  retraced  his  steps,  but  he 
could  not  do  this  much  for  the  snow  blew  into  his 
face  and  cut  it  and  the  wind  blew  hpn  back.  He 
stumbled  along  and  soon  saw  a  black  object  in 
front  of  him.  Hope  grew  high  in  his  bosom  as  he 
cried  out,  "Is  that  you,  Fred?" 

"Yes;  is  that  you,  Bob?"  came  the  joyful 
answer. 

They  were  soon  embracing  each  other  and  then 
Fred  asked,  "Where's  Sandy?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Bob,  "I  thought  he  was 
with  you." 

"He's  lost,  then,"  said  Fred  sadly,  "but  we'd 
better  be  going  on." 

They  groped  their  way  onward  and  soon  Bob 
stumbled  over  something. 

"Fred,  come  here,"  he  called.  He  was  joined 
by  Fred  and  they  both  looked  at  the  snow. 


Lost  in  the  Blizzard  65 

"Why,  that's  Sandy,"  said  Fred;  "how  did  you 
ever  find  him?" 

"I  just  stumbled  over  him,"  said  Bob,  "but  I 
wonder  if  he's  dead?" 

"I  hope  not,"  said  Fred. 

They  got  down  on  their  hands  and  knees  and 
picked  up  Sandy.  They  stumbled  along  with  their 
burden  and  soon  came  to  a  spot  where  there  was 
not  much  snow.  They  laid  Sandy  on  the  ground 
and  worked  over  him  for  five  or  ten  minutes.  They 
were  at  last  rewarded  by  seeing  the  red  come  back 
to  Sandy's  cheeks.  He  soon  opened  his  eyes  and 
looked  around. 

"How  did  I  get  here!"  he  asked  in  bewilder- 
ment. 

"We  brought  you  here,"  replied  Bob  joyfully. 

"Oh,  I  remember,"  said  Sandy,  "I  got  so  tired 
I  just  gave  in." 

The  boys  built  a  snug  shelter  from  branches 
of  trees  and  went  to  sleep  as  it  was  getting  late. 
The  next  morning  they  started  out  early,  as  the 
snow  had  stopped.  After  a  short  walk  they  came 
upon  a  small  town.  They  asked  the  first  man  they 
saw  if  he  knew  the  way  to  Spencerville. 

"Well,  I  calculates  I  do,"  he  drawled;  "it's 


66          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

about  five  miles  down  that  way,"  as  he  pointed 
west.  » 

After  thanking  him  they  set  out  again  and  in 
two  hours  they  came  to  Spencerville.  They  went 
to  the  grocers  and  bought  their  things. 

"Well,  Bob,  going  home  to  see  your  mother?" 
asked  Fred. 

"Well,  no;  I  don't  want  her  to  hear  or  know 
about  this.  She  might  make  us  come  back  home 
and  they'll  be  no  camping  trip." 

The  boys  soon  set  off  again. 

"I  think  one  of  us  had  better  take  the  provisions 
and  go  alone,"  said  Bob;  "if  Sam's  bunch  gets  us 
we  don't  want  them  to  get  our  food  again." 

"And  I  agree  with  you  there,"  said  Fred,  and 
Sandy  willingly  agreed  also. 

Sandy  took  the  supplies  and  hurried  on,  and  it 
was  lucky  for  them  as  later  events  will  prove. 

The  others  walked  on  farther  and  soon  Bob  said, 
"I  feel  as  though  someone  is  following  us." 

They  looked  around  but  they  could  see  nothing. 
As  they  turned  to  go  in  a  different  direction,  two 
men  jumped  out  of  the  woods  behind  them  and 
soon  had  the  boys  overpowered. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  TABLES  TURNED 

Returning  to  the  cabin  in  the  woods. 

As  the  man  they  had  held  captive  entered  the 
room  Dick  was  so  surprised  that  he  stood  rooted 
to  the  floor.  When  he  had  overcome  his  surprise 
he  asked: 

"What  do  you  want  here!" 

"What  do  I  want?"  echoed  the  man;  "I  want 
food  and  shelter,  and  I'm  going  to  have  it,"  and 
then  he  continued,  "If  anything  happens  IVe 
somebody  with  me,"  and  he  beckoned  to  someone 
who  was  at  the  door,  whom  Dick  had  not  noticed 
there  before. 

"So  I'm  here,"  sneered  Sam  angrily,  for  he 
was  the  one  the  man  had  beckoned  to.  "So  I'm 
here.  You  don't  seem  glad  to  see  me." 

As  Dick  remained  silent  the  man  said,  "Now 
get  us  something  to  eat. 

Dick  went  towards  the  pantry  and  took  what 
little  there  was  out. 

67 


68          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

''You're  welcome  to  all  we  have,"  he  said, 
smiling. 

The  man  took  the  food  that  Dick  had  given  to 
him  and  he  and  Sam  devoured  it  ravenously. 

After  they  had  finished  eating  what  little  there 
was  the  man  took  out  a  hlack  hottle  which  smelled 
of  whiskey. 

"Here,  Sam,  won't  you  take  a  little?  It  won't 
hurt  you." 

"Well,  I  don't  care  if  I  do,"  said  Sam,  who  did 
not  really  want  it  but  did  not  want  to  refuse  the 
man  and  maybe  anger  him. 

Dick  turned  his  eyes  away  from  them,  for  he 
could  not  bear  the  sight. 

All  were  silent  for  a  moment  and  at  last  there 
came  a  noise  at  the  door.  The  man  pulled  out 
his  gun  and  warily  approached  the  door.  Dick 
hoped  that  it  was  his  friends,  for  then  he  knew 
that  he  would  be  safe.  The  man  threw  open  the 
door  and  someone  stepped  into  the  room.  The 
door  was  shut  again  and  then  Dick  noticed  that  it 
was  George  Redney  who  had  stepped  in. 

"How  did  you  know  that  I  was  alone?"  de- 
manded Dick;  "you  wouldn't  dare  come  if  all  of 
us  were  here  at  the  same  time." 


The  Tables  Turned  69 

"All  of  you  will  never  be  here  again, "  laughed 
George,  "your  three  comrades  perished  in  the 
snow. ' ' 

"You  don't  mean  it,"  said  Dick,  a  shudder  of 
horror  going  orer  him. 

"Yes  I  do  mean  it,"  said  George. 

Dick  sank  down  in  a  chair  and  rested  his  head 
on  his  hand.  It  may  as  well  be  said  here  that  tears 
appeared  in  the  boy's  eyes  as  he  thought  of  his 
comrades  lying  dead  out  in  the  snow. 

All  was  silent  for  a  minute,  and  then  George 
said,  "I  never  forget  to  bring  my  food  along." 

Dick  started  when  he  heard  this  and  clenched  his 
fist.  George  took  some  packages  out  of  his 
pocket  and  soon  there  was  an  abundance  of  food 
lying  on  the  table.  They  fixed  their  breakfast  and 
then  gave  Dick  some.  After  breakfast  was  over 
Sam  said,  "Hadn't  you  better  tie  Dick's  hands 
and  feet,  he  might  get  away."  This  they  did. 

The  others  soon  started  to  talk. 

"So  Bill  ve  got  you  at  last  did  we,"  asked 
George,  "I  thought  you  would  come  to  your 
senses  by  and  by. ' ' 

"I  never  came  until  they  gave  me  the  money  I 
asked  for,"  admonished  Bill  sharply. 


70         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

''Well  you're  here  and  that's  all  we  want," 
said  Sam,  "and  I'll  admit  that  these  kids  are 
going  to  have  a  hard  time  with  you. ' ' 

"They  certainly  are,"  boasted  Bill,  "a  man 
isn't  paid  for  nothing  nowadays,  and  money  don't 
come  in  any  time  you  want  it." 

"I  should  say  it  don't,"  echoed  George,  "but  I 
wonder  what  Ted  and  Sam's  father  are  doing 
now. ' ' 

"Oh,  dad,"  grumbled  Sam,  "I  suppose  he's 
playing  cards.  That's  all  he's  ever  doing.  He 
earns  enough  money  from  gambling  and  won't 
give  me  a  cent,  hang  him." 

"I  think  he  gives  you  enough,"  returned  Bill 
sharply,  "and  shut  up  about  it." 

Sam  grumbled  and  slunk  away. 

As  time  went  by  Dick  asked  himself,  "did 
George  tell  the  truth  about  Bob  and  them  being 
dead.  I  won't  believe  it." 

With  that  thought  his  heart  grew  lighter.  The 
day  passed  and  at  night,  as  the  snow  started  to 
come  down  less  fiercely  he  wondered  where  they 
were. 

They  were  awake  early  next  morning  and 
Dick's  thoughts  were  of  his  chums.  His  break- 


The  Tables  Turned  71 

fast  was  brought  him  and  then  he  asked  them 
what  they  intended  to  do  with  him. 

"We  are  going  to  first  get  all  of  you,  and  then 
we  will  sell  you  to  some  bandits  in  the  mountains 
and  they  will  hold  you  for  ransom, ' '  sneered  Sam. 

"Held  for  ransom."  My,  but  those  words 
sounded  awful. 

"You  wouldn't  dare  do  it,"  Dick  said  with  a 
shudder. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Sam,  sneeringly. 

Just  then  George  came  up  and  hearing  part  of 
the  conversation  he  said,  "I  hate  those  kids,  but 
if  you  dare  to  ransom  them  while  I'm  with  you 
I'll  blab  the  whole  thing." 

This  threat  silenced  Sam  and  he  stole  away  into 
the  other  room.  Dick's  bonds  had  been  loosened 
and  he  asked,  "Will  you  shake,  George?" 

"Shake,  I  won't,"  angrily  said  George,  as  he 
walked  off. 

Sam  soon  came  up  to  George  and  said,  "You're 
mighty  good  and  smart,  you  think." 

"You  have  to  be  smart  in  this  group  of  out- 
laws," was  the  answer. 

"Why  don't  you  try  for  the  ministry?"  asked 
Sam  angrily. 


72          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

*  *  I  may,  some  day, ' '  came  back  the  oold  answer. 

"You  think  you're  an  angel,*'  said  Sam  in  dis- 
gust. 

"Look  here,"  replied  George,  "I've  stood 
enough  from  you.  I'm  going  to  quit,  and  that's 
all  there  is  to  it. ' ' 

"You  yellow-faced  hound,"  snapped  Sam,  but 
the  sentence  was  never  finished  for  George's  fist 
shot  out  and  Sam  found  himself  measuring  his 
length  on  the  floor  of  the  cabin. 

He  slowly  rose  and  walked  off,  while  George  sat 
down  and  picked  up  a  book. 

Dick  was  near  George  and  he  saw  that  it  was 
a  Latin  reader. 

"Why  in  the  Hall  he  was  way  behind  in  Latin 
and  never  would  study  it, ' '  he  exclaimed  softly  to 
himself,  "I  wonder  what  has  come  over  him." 

George  went  on  studying  as  though  nothing  had 
ever  happened,  but  inwardly  Dick  was  getting  a 
growing  admiration  for  George  and  secretly 
wished  that  they  might  be  friends. 

Dick  gazed  around  the  room  and  then  asked, 
"You've  got  a  guard  at  the  door,  you  might  as 
well  let  me  walk  around." 

"I  don't  see  any  harm  in  it,"  said  Bill. 


The  Tables  Turned.  73 

Dick  then  went  to  the  window  and  looked  out. 
First  he  saw  only  the  woods  before  him,  and  in  a 
few  more  minutes  he  saw  a  boy  hove  into  sight. 

"That's  Sandy!"  he  exclaimed  joyfully. 

Sandy  came  along  and  soon  arrived  at  the  cabin. 
He  knocked  at  the  door  and  the  man  was  instantly 
on  the  alert.  He  cautiously  opened  the  heavy  oak 
door  and  then  Sandy  stepped  in  with  his  arms 
full  of  provisions. 

"For  the  love  of  Mike,"  he  startlingly 
exclaimed, l  *  Sam  Harding !  George  Rodney ! ' ' 

He  turned  hurriedly  toward  the  door,  only  to 
see  the  grinning  countenance  of  Bill  staring  at 
him. 

"Hello,  Sandy!"  called  out  Dick  happily. 

The  two  boys  were  soon  in  a  joyful  reunion. 
Just  then  they  saw  George  pack  his  things  and 
go  over  to  Bill.  After  this  he  went  to  the  door 
and  left 

"What's  the  matter  with  George?"  asked 
Sandy,  "he  acts  crazy." 

Dick  told  him  all  and  Sandy  expressed  his 
opinion  that  he  hoped  George  would  turn  over  a 
good  leaf. 

While  they  were  thus  talking  Bill  came  up  to 


74         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

them  and  said,  "Say  young  kid  fork  over  those 
provisions  you  got  there." 

Sandy  reluctantly  handed  them  over,  as  he 
knew  they  had  the  drop  on  him.  Then  Bill  went 
over  to  Sam  and  whispered  to  him  for  a  moment. 
After  this  he  came  back  to  the  boys  and  said, 
"Tomorrow  we  will  take  you  to  the  mountains 
for  ransom." 


CHAPTER  IX 
HELD  FOR  RANSOM 

Going  back  to  Bob  and  Fred. 

As  the  two  boys  were  seized  and  thrown  down 
they  were  more  astonished  than  hurt.  They  came 
to  their  senses  only  when  two  burly  men  were 
sitting  on  top  of  them. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  using  these  high  handed 
methods  on  us?"  inquired  the  boys  angrily. 

"We'll  show  you  what  we  mean,"  was  the 
answer. 

They  forced  them  over  on  their  stomachs  and 
then  tied  their  hands  and  feet.  They  picked  the 
boys  up  easily  and  then  threw  them  over  their 
backs.  After  this  they  started  off.  The  boys 
marvelled  at  the  men's  strength,  for  they  carried 
them  as  though  they  had  been  dolls.  After  a 
tramp  of  one  or  two  miles  they  came  upon  a  large 
mountain  and  started  to  climb  it. 

They  went  higher  and  higher  and  soon  came  to 
a  narrow  ledge.  They  walked  carefully  along  this 

75 


76         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

and  then  started  up  again.  In  a  short  while  longer 
they  came  upon  a  clearing  and  in  it  stood  a  group 
of  small  tents  and  four  large  log  cabins.  As  they 
advanced  into  the  clearing  a  man,  who  seemed  to 
be  the  leader,  came  forward.  He  was  a  short,  fat 
man  and  had  ear-rings  hanging  from  his  ears. 

"What  do  you  want  here?"  he  asked  surlily. 

"We  want  to  sell  you  these  boys,"  was  the 
answer,  "you'll  get  a  good  reward  for  them." 

The  boys  knew  now  why  they  were  brought  here. 

"I'll  give  you  $200  for  them,"  he  bargained. 

"No,  no,  you  can  get  a  couple  of  thousand — 
that  won't  do." 

"I'll  give  you  $400." 

"$500  or  nothing." 

After  trying  to  keep  the  price  down  the  man 
finally  consented. 

"All  right  then,  $500, ' '  came  the  unwilling  reply, 
and  the  boys  were  handed  over  while  the  men 
received  their  money. 

They  were  brought  to  a  log  house  and  locked  in. 
In  about  half  an  hour  there  came  another  buzz  of 
excitement  from  the  outside  and  someone  was 
thrown  into  the  room  next  to  them. 

"Let's  break  down  this  wall  and  get  to  the  ones 


Held  for  Ransom  77 

that  were  tnrown  in  just  now  and  may  be  we  can 
all  find  a  way  to  get  out,"  said  Bob. 

They  threw  their  whole  weight  against  it  and  it 
shook  and  quivered.  After  two  more  turns  they 
heard  it  giving  a  little.  Once  more  they  threw 
their  weight  against  it  and  they  fell  headlong  into 
the  next  room.  They  got  up  and  rubbed  them- 
selves and  then  looked  at  the  occupants  of  the 
room.  As  they  looked  they  uttered  a  gasp  of 
excitement,  for  sitting  on  the  floor  facing  them 
was  Dick  and  Sandy. 

' '  Dick !  Sandy ! '  '  they  exclaimed  in  one  breath, 
"how  in  the  world!"  but  explanations  would 
come  later. 

There  was  a  happy  reunion  in  the  next  few  min- 
utes and  then  the  boys  were  called  upon  to  tell  their 
adventures.  After  this  was  done  Bob  said,  "That 
isn't  what  we  broke  in  here  for.  We  have  to  find 
a  way  of  escape." 

"We  should  wait  until  tonight,"  replied  Fred, 
wisely,  "we'll  fix  a  way  now  and  tonight  we'll 
take  that  avenue  of  escape. ' ' 

This  was  voted  a  good  way,  and  they  set  about 
to  find  means  of  getting  out.  Scarcely  had  they 
started,  when  a  key  rattled  in  the  door-lock  and 


78          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

the  door  opened.    It  was  one  of  the  attendants 
that  came  into  the  room. 

'  *  How  did  you  get  in  here ! ' '  he  asked  Bob  and 
Fred.  But  one  glance  around  the  room  was 
enough  to  convince  him  now.  -He  went  out  leav- 
ing them  alone,  hut  in  a  minute  he  came  back  with 
two  stout  boards.  These  he  nailed  over  the  spot 
that  was  broken. 

"Now  you  can  all  stay  here,"  said  the  man,  as 
he  went  out. 

After  he  had  gone  they  tried  again  to  find  a  way 
to  escape.  But  toward  six  o  'clock  they  gave  it  up 
in  despair.  The  same  attendant  brought  them  their 
meals,  and  after  he  had  gone  they  dozed  off  and 
went  to  sleep.  They  woke  about  midnight  with  a 
start.  Someone  was  tampering  with  the  lock. 
Soon  the  door  swung  open  admitting  the  attend- 
ant. He  walked  over  to  them  on  tip-toes  and  in 
a  whisper  told  them  to  go  with  him. 

" Shall  we  go?"  the  boys  asked  one  another, 
"may  be  this  is  another  trap." 

"We  may  as  well  go,"  replied  Bob,  "we  can't 
be  any  worse  off  than  we  are  now." 

The  boys  followed  the  attendant  and  soon  they 
came  to  the  outskirts  of  the  camp.  There  was  a 


Held  for  Ransom  79 

fire  here,  and  drunken  men  were  snoring  all  around 
them.  They  passed  them,  taking  care  to  keep  out 
of  the  glow  of  the  firelight.  They  soon  reached  a 
narrow  mountain  gully.  They  passed  across  and 
were  soon  at  the  other  end. 

They  started  down  a  little  farther,  and  then  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night  they  could  see  a  man's 
figure  looming  up  in  front  of  them.  They  grabbed 
for  his  feet  and  he  came  down  on  his  hands.  The 
force  of  his  fall  made  him  gasp  for  breath  and 
so  he  could  not  yell  for  help.  When  he  recovered 
he  found  a  gag  in  his  mouth  and  he  was  bound 
hand  and  foot.  Leaving  him  they  walked  on 
farther.  Soon  a  horseman  dashed  by  them,  a  few 
feet  away. 

"My  but  it's  getting  hot,"  said  Fred,  joyfully, 
"this  is  how  I  like  it." 

"We  had  better  hurry,"  said  the  attendant  and 
there  was  change  in  his  voice.  From  a  man's  it 
changed  into  a  boy's.  Dick  took  a  long  look  at 
him  through  the  gloom,  and  then  burst  out  with: 
"Why  you're  George  Redney!" 

"What  of  it,"  answered  George,  "but  come  with 
me.  We  must  hustle  if  we  want  to  get  away  from 
the  outlaws." 


80          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

They  walked  on  farther,  but  suddenly  a  dark 
figure  loomed  up  in  front. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  asked,  trying  to  peer 
through  the  darkness  at  them. 

"We  are  searching  for  the  boys  who  escaped," 
George  said,  "don't  you  know  me?" 

"Then  go  ahead,"  the  man  replied. 

The  group  went  on,  and  George  said  slyly, 
"That's  the  way  to  get  by,  they  all  know  me." 

They  were  not  stopped  again,  and  they  reached 
the  bottom  of  the  mountain  in  safety. 

"Follow  this  road  and  you'll  get  to  your  cabin," 
said  George,  hastily,  and  he  broke  away  in  a  run, 
without  another  word. 

"I  guess  George  is  a  pretty  good  sort,"  said 
Bob,  warmly,  "I  wonder  why  he  turned  over  a 
good  leaf?" 

Dick  told  about  the  way  George  did  in  the 
cabin,  and  by  the  time  he  got  through  they  came 
upon  their  log  house.  They  went  in  cautiously  and 
finding  that  no  one  was  in,  advanced  more  boldly. 
They  went  to  sleep  and  did  not  wake  until  late 
the  next  morning.  They  ate  their  breakfast 
and  then  Bob  said,  "Don't  it  seem  good  to  be 
together  again?" 


Held  for  Ransom  81 

"It  sure  does,"  laughed  Sandy,  gazing  proudly 
at  his  chums. 

After  this  they  did  their  daily  chores.  Fred 
went  out  to  the  woodshed  to  cut  wood,  but  soon 
came  back,  saying  excitedly: 

"Boys,  hide.  Here  comes  the  outlaw  bandit 
with  three  of  his  men." 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  OUTLAWS  BALKED 

Even  during  this  the  boys  did  not  lose  their 
heads,  as  most  boys  are  apt  to  do.  Bob  motioned 
them  over  to  him  and  said  quietly,  "We  can  hold 
them  if  we  want  to. ' ' 

Then  the  boys  each  got  a  gun  and  went  to  the 
door,  for  the  outlaws  were  still  far  away.  The 
boys  hailed  them,  and  in  answer  to  their  hail  the 
four  men  raised  their  fists  with  threatening  gest- 
ures and  said: 

"We  bought  you,  and  we  are  going  to  have  you, 
too!" 

"Come  and  get  us  then,"  said  Fred,  smiling, 
and  tapping  the  barrel  of  his  gun. 

"Oh,  so  you  will  fight  will  you,"  said  their 
leader,  "then  take  that,"  and  he  pointed  his  gun 
at  them  and  pulled  the  trigger. 

The  outlaw's  horse  gave  a  swerve  just  as  the 
man  fired  and  the  bullet  whizzed  over  their  heads. 
The  boys  ran  for  the  cabin  and  gained  entrance 

82 


The  Outlaws  Balked  83 

before  the  men  began  to  shoot  again.  Two  of 
the  boys  fired  out  of  the  window  in  return,  while 
the  other  two  found  knot  holes  where  they  could 
look  out  and  also  fire  through.  The  bullets  were 
soon  flying  helter-skelter.  Bob  put  his  head  up, 
and  his  cap  was  shot  off  of  it. 

"That'll  give  you  a  lesson,"  smiled  Dick. 

"That  was  a  brand  new  cap,  and  now  it's 
ruined,"  moaned  Bob  woefully. 

Soon  one  of  the  outlaws  threw  up  his  hands 
and  fell  over  on  the  ground.  Another  got  off  of 
his  horse,  and  looked  at  him  and  then  slowly  shook 
his  head. 

"It's  a  pity  we  had  to  kill  him,"  murmured 
Fred  soberly,  "but  it  was  either  him  or  us." 

A  few  minutes  later  another  outlaw  staggered 
and  fell  to  the  ground.  The  leader  and  the  man 
that  was  left  then  thinking  that  they  had  had 
enough  rode  off  on  their  horses.  The  boys  waited 
until  they  were  far  away  and  then  went  out  to 
bury  the  dead  men.  They  soon  buried  one,  but 
saw  that  the  other  was  breathing  slightly.  They 
brought  him  to  their  cabin  and  laid  him  ,on  a  bed. 
They  ministered  first  aid  to  him  and  bandaged 
his  wound.  After  they  had  fixed  him  up  they 


84         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

quietly  left  the  room  and  then  Sandy  said,  "I 
surely  pity  the  poor  fellow." 

"So  do  we,"  was  the  answer  from  Bob,  "but  I 
wonder  if  the  men  will  come  back  again." 

"If  they  do  they'll  find  us  waiting  for  them," 
grinned  Fred,  tapping  his  gun. 

"Listen,"  said  Dick,  "may  be  they  will  come 
back  with  their  men.  If  they  can't  capture  us 
they  will  starve  us  into  submission." 

"I'm  going  to  see  whether  our  food  is  there," 
said  Fred,  as  he  walked  toward  the  cupboard.  As 
he  was  half  way  there  a  hand  was  placed  on  his 
shoulder,  and  turning  around  he  saw  Bob. 

"Don't  go  there,"  cautioned  Bob  quietly  in  a 
whisper. 

Dick  refrained  from  asking  questions  and 
walked  back  to  the  boys.  In  a  few  words  Bob  told 
them  how  he  had  seen  the  shadow  of  a  man  fall 
upon  the  window. 

"We're  being  watched,"  said  Dick  at  length. 

"We  are  and  I'm  going  to  see  who's  here,"  said 
Bob  determinedly,  and  he  opened  the  door  and 
crept  softly  out. 

He  was  out  but  a  few  minutes  when  there  came 
the  sound  of  a  scuffle  and  a  solitary  shot.  The 


The  Outlaws  Balked  85 

boys  rushed  out  in  time  to  see  Bob  rise  from  the 
ground. 

"Bob,  what's  the  trouble?"  they  shouted. 

"I  saw  a  man  looking  in  at  the  window,  and  I 
asked  him  what  he  wanted.  He  jumped  at  me  and 
pulled  out  his  gun  and  shot." 

"Did  he  hit  you!"  asked  Dick  anxiously. 

"Do  you  see  any  marks  on  me,"  asked  Bob, 
"I  guess  he  got  the  worst  of  it,  I  knocked  the  gun 
back  and  the  bullet  went  into  his  hand." 

"Who  was  it?"  asked  Sandy. 

* '  He  was  our  friend,  the  outlaw. ' ' 

After  this  Dick  and  Sandy  proposed  to  go  in 
and  see  how  their  patient  was  progressing.  They 
went  in  and  saw  the  man  staring  wildly  around 
him.  As  the  boys  entered  the  room  he  tried  to  get 
up  but  sank  back  with  a  groan  of  pain. 

"How  did  I  get  here!"  he  asked  in  bewilder- 
ment. 

"We  brought  you,"  laughed  Dick  good- 
naturedly. 

The  man  kept  silence  and  the  boys  went  out 
again. 

"Well,  at  any  rate,  we  know  that  he  won't  die," 
said  Bob. 


86         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

After  lunch  they  all  went  into  the  woods.  When 
they  came  back  they  saw  some  one  snooping 
around  the  cabin.  They  rushed  at  him  and  what 
was  their  surprise  to  see  the  man  called  "Bill." 

'  *  So  you  came  back,  did  you ! ' '  asked  Dick,  "  Fll 
make  you  wish  you  never  had. ' * 

They  brought  him  in  and  tied  him  after  a  long 
tussle. 

"We'd  better  not  take  any  chances  with  him," 
said  Sandy,  "he  ought  to  be  in  jail." 

"Yes,  two  of  us  can  take  him  there,"  said  Bob, 
"Sandy  and  myself  will  go." 

They  soon  started  and  in  a  little  while  were  out 
of  sight. 

In  three  hours  they  returned  and  said  that 
"Bill"  was  safely  lodged  in  jail.  They  went  back 
into  the  woods  but  were  near  enough  the  cabin  to 
see  if  anybody  came  there.  In  about  five  minutes 
they  saw  some  one  come  around  the  side  of  the 
house. 

"My,  but  I  wish  they  would  leave  me  alone," 
grumbled  Sandy. 

They  sneaked  out  and  threw  the  person  that 
was  snooping  about  down  on  his  face.  As  they 
were  going  through  the  task  of  tying  him,  Dick 


The  Outlaws  Balked  87 

suddenly  gave  a  cry  and  started  to  cut  the  knot. 
As  the  boys  tried  to  make  him  stop  he  flung  them 
aside.  When  the  knots  were  untied  the  newcomer 
arose  and  smiled  sheepishly.  The  boys  stood 
paralyzed,  for  there  facing  them  stood  George 
Bedney. 

"Why,  hello  George,"  Fred  managed  to  blurt 
out  at  last. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,"  said  George,  "you 
stand  there  like  a  flock  of  dummies. ' ' 

This  brought  the  boys  to  action  and  they  rushed 
forward  eagerly  to  shake  hands.  They  asked 
George  why  he  had  come,  and  he  answered,  "I 
mean  to  stay  with  you  for  awhile  if  you'll  let 
me." 

"We  have  only  one  more  week  but  you  can 
stay  with  us  during  that  time,"  said  Dick. 

"You  must  be  hungry,  though?"  answered 
Fred. 

"I  surely  am,"  was  the  reply. 

They  put  some  food  on  the  table  and  George 
soon  announced  that  he  was  full.  After  this  they 
sat  down  and  George  told  them  what  he  had  done 
since  they  left  him.  As  he  told  them  they  heard 
a  thundering  of  horses '  hoofs  and  Bob  ran  to  the 


88          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

door  and  peered  anxiously  out  of  it. 

"Boys,"  he  called  out  excitedly,  "here  comes 
the  outlaw  and  he  has  more  than  twenty  men  with 
him.  They  mean  business  this  time." 


CHAPTER  XI 
A  NARROW  ESCAPE 

"Well,"  said  Sandy,  after  this  startling 
exclamation,  * '  if  they  are  going  to  fight  let  them. ' ' 

"George,"  said  Bob,  turning  to  their  friend, 
' '  if  they  see  you  here  they  will  kill  you  for  leaving 
their  camp. '  * 

"I'll  stick  with  you,"  was  the  determined 
answer. 

The  boys  were  glad  to  see  that  the  yellow  streak 
that  was  in  him  before  had  entirely  vanished. 

"Well  we  may  as  well  face  it,"  said  Dick, 
grimly,  going  to  the  door. 

The  horsemen  stopped  quite  a  way  from  the 
cabin,  not  caring  to  take  chances  with  the  boys. 
As  Dick  and  his  chums  appeared  the  outlaw  cap- 
tain called  to  them  and  said,  "You  see  I  said  we 
wanted  you  and  we  are  going  to  have  you. ' ' 

' '  Not  without  a  fight, ' '  came  the  cool  answer. 

"No!  we'll  see,"  grinned  the  outlaw,  as  he 
whispered  something  to  his  men. 

89 


90          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

The  boys  ran  for  the  cabin,  and  just  as  they 
barred  the  door  a  fusilade  of  bullets  flattened 
themselves  against  it.  Each  boy  took  a  gun  and 
as  they  went  to  the  window  gripped  it  tighter. 
Fred  ventured  to  peek  out  but  was  met  by  a  hail  of 
bullets.  The  boys  started  to  fire  in  return  and  the 
men  withdrew. 

"It's  going  to  be  easy,"  grinned  George, 
" there's  so  many  of  them  that  some  of  them  are 
bound  to  be  hit. ' ' 

The  men  advanced  again,  and  one  of  them  held 
up  his  hand. 

"I  wonder  what  he  wants,"  mused  Sandy. 

As  the  boys  appeared  at  the  window  the  man 
said,  "This  is  your  last  chance.  Are  you  going 
to  give  up?" 

"We  haven't  begun  to  fight  yet,"  grimaced  Dick. 

The  man  went  away  and  the  boys  dropped 
again.  A  moment  later  and  a  hail  of  bullets  flat- 
tened on  the  window  sill.  Dick  fired  and  one  man 
dropped  from  his  horse. 

"Fire  sure,"  he  said,  "there's  no  need  in  wast- 
ing bullets." 

Bob  fired  three  times  and  another  man  dropped. 
When  the  boys  stopped  to  reload  their  guns  four 


A  Narrow  Escape  91 

men  lay  on  the  ground.  After  the  second  batch 
of  ammunition  was  used,  they  counted  seven  men 
lying  about  and  three  more  were  badly  wounded. 
The  men  withdrew  and  Bob  said, ' '  They  are  going 
away;  I  suppose  they  are  afraid  of  our  little 
guns, ' '  and  he  laughed  merrily. 

The  men  had  drawn  out  of  range,  and  now  one 
of  them  came  forward,  and  asked  to  bury  their 
dead.  The  boys  agreed  and  the  men  set  about 
their  grim  task.  When  they  were  through,  the 
whole  group  left. 

"That's  another  bunch  of  cut- throats  we  are 
through  with,"  laughed  Bob,  but  could  he  have 
foretold  the  future  he  would  not  have  spoken  so 
lightly. 

They  went  into  the  woods  for  awhile  but  soon 
came  back  again.  The  next  day  was  uneventful, 
and  the  boys  went  to  sleep  with  the  belief  that  they 
would  be  left  alone  in  the  future,  but  this  was  not 
so. 

"Now  that  we  haven't  got  that  sick  man  on  our 
hands,  we  can  do  something,"  said  Bob,  for  the 
man  had  been  transferred  over  to  the  outlaws 
before. 

They  all  awoke  early  next  morning  and  set  about 


92          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

their  usual  tasks.  After  eating  a  meal,  which  con- 
sisted of  ham  and  eggs  and  hot  coffee,  they 
stretched  themselves  out,  and  said  they  were  just 
in  the  mood  of  adventures  and  these  they  were 
going  to  have.  George  went  out  to  cut  wood,  but 
in  five  minutes  came  running  back  again,  excitedly 
beaming  from  his  face. 

" What's  the  matter?"  asked  the  boys,  gather- 
ing around  him. 

"As  I  am  cutting  wood,"  began  George,  "I 
heard  voices." 

'  *  What, ' '  gasped  Bob, ' '  I  thought  we  were  going 
to  be  left  alone  for  a  little  while." 

"I  stopped  to  listen,"  said  George,  taking  no 
heed  of  the  interruption,  * '  and  I  heard  one  of  them 
say  'are  you  sure  it's  going  to  be  safe!'  'Sure,' 
replied  the  other,  'they  won't  suspect.'  'I  don't 
like  this  job,'  went  on  the  first  voice,  'it's  too  tick- 
lish.' 'Yes,  but  the  kids  will  never  know.  Every- 
thing is  fixed  up  against  the  cabin  and  all  we  have 
to  do  is  to  light  it  and  pooh !  the  kids  will  go  sky- 
high.'  'I'll  teach  them  to  kill  my  men/  a  third 
voice  now  said,  'I'll  hold  them  for  ransom  if  I 
die  trying  it.'  They  walked  away  then,  and  that'i 
all  I  know." 


A  Narrow  Escape  93 

"The  wretches,"  gasped  Sandy,  "they  meant  to 
blow  us  sky  high." 

1 '  We  won 't  give  them  a  chance  to, ' '  gritted  Dick. 
They  went  out  and  by  a  careful  search  discovered 
a  pile  of  shavings  drenched  with  oil. 

"So  this  is  the  noise  I  heard,"  said  Fred,  look- 
ing at  the  shavings,  as  though  he  expected  them  to 
get  up  and  run  away. 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean  by  that?"  asked  Dick. 

"Two  nights  ago,"  began  Fred,  "I  woke  early 
in  the  morning  and  heard  a  scraping  sound  over 
here.  I  never  thought  anything  about  it  then,  but 
this  must  have  been  what  the  wretches  were 
doing. ' ' 

They  went  to  the  cabin  again,  resolved  to  keep  a 
guard  after  that.  The  day  passed  without  further 
adventures,  and  the  boys  thought  the  men  had 
left,  so  they  did  not  have  a  guard  that  night.  At 
about  four  o  'clock  in  the  morning  they  awoke  and 
heard  some  one  prowling  about  outside.  Spring- 
ing out  of  bed  they  ran  to  the  door,  and  threw  it 
open.  As  they  opened  it  some  one  rushed  into 
the  woods. 

"He  must  have  been  disappointed,"  smiled 
Fred  to  his  chums. 


94          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

They  closed  the  door  once  more,  and  quickly 
dressed.  They  ran  outside,  and  hunted  around  on 
the  ground  to  see  if  they  could  find  the  footprints 
of  a  man.  After  a  short  search  they  once  more 
turned  toward  the  cabin,  and  as  they  entered 
Fred  shook  his  fist  toward  the  woods,  and  as  he 
did  so  a  loud  guffaw  broke  from  a  clump  of  trees, 
and  then  there  came  a  scrambling  in  the  brush. 

" After  them  boys,"  called  Fred,  "we  might  be 
able  to  capture  the  rascals." 

The  boys  needed  no  second  bidding,  but  were  off 
like  a  shot.  They  could  hear  the  men  running  and 
got  on  their  trail.  They  kept  it  for  a  way  and 
then  lost  it.  After  a  short  search  George  pointed 
to  the  ground,  where  they  could  see  the  footprints 
of  a  man. 

* '  Come  on, '  >  yelled  George,  and  they  once  more 
started  in  hot  pursuit.  After  a  little  while  they 
lost  the  trail  again,  and  were  unable  to  find  it. 
After  a  search  of  a  good  half  hour  the  boys  started 
to  go  back  to  the  cabin  again. 

As  they  walked  along  the  peaceful  quiet  was 
broken  by  a  sharp  cry,  "Help!  Help!"  and  it 
ended  with  a  groan! 


CHAPTER  XII 
OUTWITTING  A  EOBBER 

As  that  cry  broke  out  over  the  still  night,  the 
boys  stopped  short  in  their  tracks  and  gazed  at 
each  other  in  consternation. 

"Some  one  want's  help,  and  we're  going  to  give 
it  to  them,"  said  Bob,  "the  cry* came  from  over 
that  way." 

The  five  boys  all  darted  the  way  indicated  by 
Bob  and  were  soon  hurrying  along.  After  a  walk 
of  nearly  two  minutes  they  came  upon  a  cabin. 
They  crept  up  and  looked  into  the  window.  What 
they  saw  made  them  fairly  gasp  for  breath.  For 
there  on  his  knees  was  an  old  man,  and  over  him 
a  younger  man  was  bending  grasping  him  by  the 
hair. 

"Tell  me  where  the  money  is,  or  I'll  kill  you," 
threatened  the  young  man. 

"I  haven't  any  money,  I  told  you,"  cried  the 
old  man,  in  trembling  tones. 

"We  can't  see  that  old  man  tortured,"  said 

95 


96          In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

Dick  angrily,  "I'm  going  to  stop  it  right  now." 

They  all  advanced  to  the  door  which  hy  good 
luck  was  open.  They  stepped  into  the  room,  but 
the  young  man  did  not  notice  them  until  he  was 
hurled  half  way  across  the  room. 

"Get  out  of  here,  boy/'  cautioned  the  man,  "or 
I  might  have  to  hurt  you. 

"You'll  get  out  of  here  before  I  do,"  said  Dick, 
without  flinching. 

"Yes,"  snarled  the  man,  "we'll  see  about  that," 
and  he  advanced  three  steps,  but  had  he  intended 
to  frighten  Dick  he  was  mistaken,  and  on  seeing 
the  fiery  flash  in  Dick's  eyes  the  man  shrank  back. 

"Don't  let  him  do  anything  to  me,"  implored 
the  old  man,  in  trembling  tones. 

"He  won't  do  anything  while  we  are  here,"  said 
Dick,  with  a  grim  smile. 

"I  won't,  eh,"  sneered  the  man,  "I'll  see,"  and 
he  raised  his  fist  threateningly.  But  Dick  ad- 
vanced and  grabbing  the  man's  wrist  soon  had  him 
howling  for  mercy.  Bob  now  advanced  and 
together  the  two  boys  managed  to  tie  the  young 
man. 

"What  was  he  doing  to  you?"  Bob  asked  the 
old  man. 


Outwitting  a  Robber  97 

"He  wanted  my  money,"  replied  the  old  man, 
"although  I  put  it  in  the  bank  yesterday.  I  told 
him  so  but  he  wouldn't  believe  me." 

Bob  went  back  to  the  young  man  and  asked  him, 
"What  have  you  got  to  say  for  yourself?" 

"Nothing,"  came  back  the  surly  reply,  "but 
what  are  you  going  to  do  with  me?" 

"Put  you  in  jail,  of  course,  where  you  belong," 
said  Bob,  and  then  the  man,  as  he  said  later,  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life  burst  out  weeping. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter?"  asked  Bob  kind  of 
surprised. 

"I've  never  been  in  jail  before,"  said  the  man, 
"I  wish  I  had  never  turned  bad,"  and  burst  out 
crying  again. 

After  a  little  while  he  inquired,  "Won't  you 
leave  me  go  this  time?  I'll  promise  to  turn  over  a 
good  leaf." 

Bob  turned  to  the  old  man  and  he  nodded. 

"If  you  promise  to  turn  over  a  good  leaf  we'll 
leave  you  go,"  said  Bob. 

"I  surely  will,"  was  the  hearty  exclamation, 
"God  bless  you,  boy." 

They  untied  the  man's  bonds  and  he  rose.  He 
went  towards  the  door,  and  then  the  old  man 


98         In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

pushed  an  envelope  into  his  hand. 

"Here,**  he  said,  "this  may  help  you.'* 

The  young  man  went  to  the  door  and  then  waved 
his  hand  as  a  good-by  to  the  little  group,  and  he 
then  dashed  into  the  woods. 

"I  hope  that  he  turns  over  a  good  leaf,"  said 
Bob,  thoughtfully. 

He  was  cut  short  by  the  old  man,  who  said, 
'  *  Well  my  boys  you  came  just  in  time  and  I  want 
to  reward  you." 

1  'We  never  saved  you  for  a  reward,"  was  the 
answer. 

"I'm  sure  of  that,"  said  the  old  man,  "but  take 
it." 

After  the  man  was  convinced  that  they  would 
take  no  money,  Bob  called  his  chums,  and  they  all 
left  the  cabin. 

"Well,  we  got  there  just  in  time,"  laughed 
George,  "and  I'm  glad  we  got  to  be  of  help." 

They  reached  their  hut  and  then  Fred  reminded 
them  of  breakfast. 

"Why,  yes,  the  excitement  of  the  early  morning 
made  us  forget  all  about  that,"  said  the  other 
boys. 

"Yes,   and  I'm  as  hungry  as   a  bear,"   said 


Outwitting  a  Robber  99 

Sandy,  suddenly  recalling  an  important  fact. 

Breakfast  was  soon  fixed  and  they  put  it  down 
at  a  great  rate.  After  breakfast  was  over  Dick 
said,  "Boys,  we  have  only  four  more  days  here, 
so  let's  make  the  best  of  them." 

This  was  met  by  a  groan,  and  George  said,  "I 
wish  that  I  knew  what  good  fellows  you  were 
before.  I  wouldn't  have  stuck  around  Sam  for 
an  instant." 

"Oh,  shut  up  about  Sam,"  grinned  Fred,  "you 
are  not  with  him  now." 

The  boys  played  pranks  on  each  other  for  a 
long  time  and  then  sat  down  to  a  good  lunch.  After 
lunch  they  went  to  the  woods  and  stayed  there  for 
awhile. 

The  four  days  passed  altogether  too  quickly  for 
the  boys,  and  when  they  had  to  go  they  were  very 
sorry.  They  all  started  for  town,  and  when  they 
got  there  they  all  went  up  to  Bob's  home.  As  they 
went  into  the  yard,  Mr.  Morris  ran  up  and  gave 
them  all  a  hearty  welcome.  They  went  into  the 
kitchen  and  were  all  given  a  motherly  embrace  by 
Bob's  mother.  While  Mrs.  Morris  was  fixing 
something  for  them  to  eat,  Mr.  Morris  asked, 

"Now,  son,  tell  me  about  your  adventures,  for 


100        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

I'm  bound  that  you  had  some  lively  ones." 

The  boys  told  all  their  adventures,  and  Mr. 
Morris  whistled  softly.  After  they  were  through 
he  asked,  "Are  you  sure  you  aren't  fooling  me 
about  those  ransomers,  or  outlaws?" 

"No  that's  just  like  it  was,"  was  the  emphatic 
answer. 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  have  that  place  wiped  out," 
replied  Mr.  Morris,  grimly. 

The  boys  were  now  called  upon  to  eat,  and  this 
they  did.  George  called  the  meal  he  finished  one 
of  the  best  he  had  ever  eaten. 

"You  can't  beat  mother  and  her  cooking," 
laughed  Bob. 

After  breakfast  the  boys  strolled  around  the 
farm,  showing  George  the  sights.  The  next  day 
Sandy  went  home,  and  when  he  got  on  the  train 
leaving,  he  left  some  sorrowful  friends  behind 
him.  The  next  morning  Bob  asked  George  what 
he  intended  to  do.  "I  don't  know,"  was  the 
answer,  "I  guess  I'll  go  to  the  hotel  here." 

As  George  went  out,  Bob  came  up  to  his  father 
and  asked,  "Dad,  George  never  has  had  a  real 
chance.  Why  don't  you  adopt  him  —  we  have 
plenty  of  room. 


Outwitting  a  Robber  101 

"If  you  want  him  here,  I'll  adopt  him,  my  boy," 
came  the  kind  answer. 

When  George  came  in  again  he  could  hardly 
believe  the  good  fortune,  but  when  he  found  it  was 
really  true,  he  turned  to  Bob  and  said,  "Pm  not 
going  to  say  much,  but  you  know  how  grateful  I 
am." 

"Don't  talk  about  it,"  was  the  warm  reply. 

Nothing  happened  during  the  day,  but  that  night 
Fred  went  out  alone.  As  he  was  wondering  what 
he  should  do,  he  saw  a  man  coming  down  the 
street.  Fred  gazed  at  him,  and  then  gave  a  start, 
for  he  had  recognized  Mr.  Harding.  But  the  man 
recognized  him  at  almost  the  same  instant.  He 
turned  around  and  started  to  run  with  Fred  after 
him. 

' '  If  Dick  or  someone  was  only  with  me,  we  might 
be  able  to  capture  him,  but  I  can't  do  anything 
alone,"  thought  Fred,  as  he  ran.  He  was  soon 
reinforced,  for  as  he  turned  another  corner  he  saw 
a  well  dressed  gentleman  standing  near  a  lamp- 
post. Running  up  to  him,  Fred  tapped  his  shoul- 
der, and  now  he  was  destined  to  a  surprise,  for 
the  man  was  no  other  than  the  robber  they  had  let 
go  and  who  promised  to  turn  over  a  good  leaf. 


102        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"Help  me  catch  him,'*  was  all  Fred  could  say, 
and  he  darted  away  again,  with  the  man  right  on 
his  heels.  Mr.  Harding  ran  down  a  narrow  street 
and  then  ducked  into  a  building.  Fred  and  his 
companion  passed  by,  and  it  was  soon  clear  to 
them  that  they  had  lost  him.  They  soon  came 
back,  and  just  as  they  started  to  go  by  the  build- 
ing where  Mr.  Harding  had  taken  refuge,  Fred 
gave  his  companion  a  violent  shove  backwards. 
It  was  lucky  he  did,  for  an  instant  later  a  great 
iron  pot  was  smashed  to  pieces  on  the  sidewalk, 
and  had  the  young  man  not  been  thrown  back- 
wards it  would  have  ground  his  brains  into 
powder! 


CHAPTER  XHI 
A  DARING  ESCAPE 

When  the  man  picked  himself  up  again  and  saw 
what  had  happened  they  both  started  up  the  stairs. 
They  heard  a  shuffling  near  the  top  and  so  hur- 
ried there.  Just  as  they  reached  the  top,  a  door 
slammed  and  they  bolted  for  this.  Throwing  all 
their  weight  against  the  door  it  caved  in. 

But  where  was  Mr.  Harding — for  the  room  was 
empty ! 

They  ran  to  the  window  by  which  stood  a  tree, 
and  could  see  him  just  reaching  the  ground. 

"I  wouldn't  take  a  dare  on  this  tree,"  shivered 
Fred.  He  touched  a  branch  and  it  quivered  and 
broke  in  half. 

When  they  got  to  the  ground  they  looked  up 
and  down  the  street  but  could  see  nothing,  so 
they  started  back  the  way  them  came. 

"You  see  that  I  made  good,"  said  the  man. 

"I  should  say  you  have,"  said  Fred,  "tell  me 
about  it." 

103 


104        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

' '  There  is  nothing  to  it, ' '  replied  the  man  mod- 
estly, "but  when  I  came  here  I  bought  some  new 
clothes  and  got  a  job  at  the  factory.  But  I  never 
told  you  my  name — it's  William  Pierson." 

"And  mine's  Fred  Turner,"  replied  Fred. 

They  soon  came  to  where  they  had  to  part  and 
Fred  walked  on  alone.  In  an  hour  Fred  arrived 
at  Mr.  Morris '  house  and  went  in. 

"Where  have  you  been,  Fred?"  asked  Dick, 
anxiously. 

Fred  told  his  story  and  Dick  observed,  * '  So  Mr. 
Harding  is  here  in  town.  That  means  that  Sam  is 
here  too." 

"Yes,  and  it  all  means  trouble,"  said  Bob  who 
had  come  up  and  heard  the  last  of  the  talk. 

They  went  to  bed,  and  the  next  morning  when 
they  sat  down  to  breakfast,  Mr.  Morris  was  not 
there. 

"Where  is  father?"  Bob  asked. 

* '  I  don 't  know, ' '  Mrs.  Morris  replied,  * '  he  hasn  't 
been  here  this  morning.  He  wasn't  in  bed  this 
morning  either." 

"Not  in  bed!"  gasped  all  the  boys. 

"Good-by,  boys,  I'm  going  to  dad's  office," 
called  out  Bob,  "he  might  be  there." 


A  Daring  Escape  105 

"Bob!  Bob!  eat  your  breakfast  first,"  called 
out  Mrs.  Morris. 

Bob  returned  and  in  fifteen  minutes  all  the  boys 
were  riding  towards  Mr.  Morris'  office,  and  when 
they  got  there  they  saw  Mr.  Freeman,  the  hired 
man,  sitting  down  at  his  desk. 

"Is  dad  here!"  asked  Bob  anxiously. 

"Why,  no,"  said  Mr.  Freeman,  "I'm  waiting 
for  him  to  come." 

The  boys  all  went  out  again  and  here  they  met 
an  old  seadog. 

"Looking  for  your  father?"  he  asked  kindly. 

"Yes,  did  you  see  him?"  asked  Bob. 

' '  I  saw  him  go  into  his  office  about  an  hour  ago, ' ' 
was  the  startling  reply. 

"You  did?"  asked  Bob  incredulously. 

"Yes,  and  there  seems  to  be  something  mighty 
funny  to  me,"  replied  the  old  sailor. 

"Tell  us  about  it,"  said  the  boys,  breathlessly. 

"Well,  I  reckon  that  I  will,"  said  the  old  salt, 
"I  was  sitting  here,  and  I  saw  your  father  go  up 
to  his  office.  About  five  minutes  later  some  tough 
looking  men  went  up  there,  and  all  of  a  sudden 
there  was  a  shot.  I  got  up  and  ran  over  there, 
and  I  met  those  two  men  coming  out.  'What's  the 


106       In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

matter?'  asked  one  of  them.  'I  heard  a  shot  up 
here, '  said  I.  *  You  must  have  been  mistaken, '  said 
the  other,  we  just  came  down  and  we  never  heard 
anything. y  I  came  back  over  here  then. ' ' 

Bob  asked,  "Did  they  have  anything  with 
them!" 

*  *  They  were  carrying  something  wrapped  up  in 
canvas,"  was  the  answer. 

"What  was  their  description?'* 

This  was  told  them  and  Bob  turned  to  the  boys 
and  said,  "I  guess  you  know  who  it  is  now." 

"Sam  Harding's  father,"  echoed  the  boys. 

They  thanked  the  old  sailor,  and  then  they 
walked  off. 

They  rode  back  to  their  house,  and  Bob  told  his 
mother  about  it. 

"I'm  not  afraid,  for  I  know  that  you  will  find 
him,"  she  said  quietly.  They  went  out  again, 
and  Bob  asked,  "Hadn't  we  better  notify  the 
police?" 

"Yes,  and  I'm  going  to  do  it,"  replied  Dick. 

They  went  to  the  police  station  and  told  their 
story.  After  getting  a  promise  that  they  would 
attend  to  it  later,  they  went  out  into  the  street 
asrain. 


A  Daring  Escape  107 

"They  most  naturally  would  have  gone  out  of 
the  county, "  said  George. 

''Hadn't  we  better  go  back  and  ask  the  old 
sailor  V  suggested  Fred. 

They  went  back  and  the  old  sailor  showed  them 
the  way  they  had  gone. 

"Just  as  I  thought,"  muttered  George,  "that's 
the  way  to  the  woods. ' ' 

"What  do  you  mean?"  the  boys  asked. 

"They  must  have  brought  him  to  their  cabin. 
They  meant  to  keep  the  secret  away  from  me  at 
first,  but  I  found  the  cabin  and  they  had  to  let 
me  in,"  said  George. 

' '  That  must  have  been  it, ' '  said  Bob,  slowly. 

They  set  off  to  the  woods  and  soon  reached  it. 
They  cut  through  it  and  after  a  long  walk  came 
upon  the  cabin.  They  cautiously  approached,  but 
on  peeking  in,  were  chagrined  to  find  it  empty. 

"They  never  came  here — that's  a  fact,"  said 
Fred. 

"Yes,  but  there  is  some  place  in  the  woods," 
rejoined  George. 

"I  wish  that — "  but  the  sentence  was  never  fin- 
ished, for  Bob  suddenly  gave  a  yell  and  pointed 
to  the  ground. 


108        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

They  ran  to  him  and  there  on  the  ground  they 
could  see  some  freshly  made  tracks. 

"They  came  this  way,"  said  Bob,  excitedly. 

They  followed  the  prints  for  a  way,  and  soon 
they  heard  some  voices.  They  went  to  the  spot 
the  voices  came  from  and  there  they  could  see  the 
two  men  sitting  around  a  fire. 

"I  wonder  where  dad  is,"  said  Bob,  "I  wonder 
if  he  is  in  that  tent!" 

"I'm  going  to  see,"  answered  George,  slowly. 

"How  can  you  get  there?"  they  asked. 

He  cut  away  from  them,  and  soon  was  at  the 
very  background  of  the  tent.  He  sneaked  up  and 
the  boys  breathed  an  inward  prayer. 

"That's  risky  business,"  remarked  Bob. 

At  last  George  succeeded  in  making  the  tent 
without  being  caught.  He  raised  the  flap  and  saw 
Mr.  Morris  lying  on  the  ground  in  the  interior. 
He  slowly  made  his  way  back  to  the  boys  and  told 
them  that  he  was  there. 

' '  One  of  us  had  better  stay  here,  while  the  others 
go  for  the  police,"  whispered  Fred. 

George  was  voted  to  stay,  and  the  other  boys 
went  to  town. 

As  half  an  hour  passed,  and  the  boys  did  not 


A  Daring  Escape  109 

come  back,  George  started  to  get  nervous.  He 
heard  the  men  talking  and  one  of  them  said,  "I'm 
going  to  have  a  smoke  now,  Ted,  want  to  join  me 
in  one?" 

"No,"  growled  Ted,  "I  have  enough  trouble 
keeping  those  pesky  kids  away." 

George  was  kneeling  down  in  the  brush,  just 
peering  over,  when  there  came  a  quick  step  behind 
him,  something  hit  his  head  and  then  came  dark- 
ness! 


CHAPTER  XIV 
A  MYSTERIOUS  LETTER 

Returning  to  the  boys  who  went  back  to  town. 
They  reached  it  in  an  hour,  and  went  to  the  police 
station.  After  telling  their  story  the  officers  said 
they  would  have  to  wait  a  little  while.  They  waited 
for  half  an  hour  and  then  two  policemen  came  up 
to  them  and  the  group  started  back  to  where  they 
had  left  George.  After  an  hour's  walk  they  came 
upon  the  spot  where  they  had  left  him,  but  there 
was  no  sign  of  George  or  the  camp. 

They  searched  all  around,  and  then  one  of  the 
policemen  came  upon  the  fire,  which  was  just 
smouldering. 

"Some  one's  been  here,  that's  certain,"  he  said, 
"and  it  wasn't  very  long  ago,  either." 

After  getting  on  the  men's  tracks,  the  boys  fol- 
lowed them  for  quite  a  distance.  Soon  however 
they  came  upon  a  dry  place,  and  here  they  lost  the 
trail.  They  searched  around  for  awhile,  but  they 
still  could  not  find  the  men's  tracks.  After  a  half 

no 


A  Mysterious  Letter  111 

hour  search  they  turned  back  once  more.  When 
they  had  scarcely  gone  ten  feet  Boh  stopped  and 
said,  "I'm  not  going  back  to  town  without  George 
and  father." 

"Neither  will  we  then,"  said  Fred  and  Dick, 
stepping  up  to  Bob's  side. 

"Oh,  come  on,"  grumbled  the  policemen,  "you 
can't  find  them.  We  are  going  back  to  town." 

"Go  on,"  grimly  said  Fred,  "we're  not." 

The  men  argued  a  little  longer  and  then  plunged 
into  the  woods  and  were  soon  lost  to  sight. 

"I'm  glad  that  they  are  gone,"  smiled  Bob, 
"they're  cowards." 

"They  are  cowards,"  snorted  Dick,  angrily. 

"Yes,  but  if  we  intend  to  find  your  father,  we 
had  better  hurry,"  broke  in  Fred  just  then. 

They  searched  awhile  longer,  and  suddenly  Fred 
gave  a  cry, 

"They  fooled  us,"  he  yelled,  "they  went  back 
again  instead  of  going  forward." 

The  other  two  boys  stood  and  gaped  at  him. 

"Why,  you  must  be  right,"  blurted  out  Bob  at 
length. 

They  retraced  their  steps,  and  a  little  later  saw 
the  men's  tracks  leading  back.  They  gave  a  cry 


112       In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

of  exultation  and  hurried  along  at  a  faster  pace. 
After  a  few  minutes  Dick  said,  "I'll  bet  that 
they  went  back  to  the  cabin."    Bob  nodded,  and 
they  hurried  on  once  more. 

It  is  now  time  to  turn  back  to  George. 

****** 

When  George  came  back  to  himself  he  saw  the 
leering  face  of  Sam  bending  over  him. 

"So  you  will  try  to  spy  on  us,"  he  hissed. 

George  attempted  to  rise,  and  for  the  first  time 
he  noticed  that  he  was  tied.  Just  then  Mr.  Hard- 
ing came  to  the  tent  and  bending  over  George, 
cut  the  ropes  that  bound  him.  George  rose  and 
at  first  swayed  dizzily,  but  in  a  minute  got  back 
his  strength. 

"If  you  don't  make  any  fuss,  we'll  not  hurt  you, 
but  on  your  first  attempt  to  escape  we  are  going 
to  do  it,"  Harding  said. 

"I  guess  that  I'll  not  trying  anything,"  coolly 
replied  George. 

After  Mr.  Harding  had  left  Sam  said  with  a 
sneer,  "Don't  you  wish  you  had  stayed  with  us!" 

"No,"  thundered  out  George,  "I'm  sorry  I 
stayed  with  you  as  long  as  I  did." 

Sam  started  to  make  a  remark,  but  on  seeing 


A  Mysterious  Letter  113 

George's  fiery  eyes,  he  thought  better  of  it  and 
turned  away. 

In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Harding  came  back  in  and 
motioned  for  George  to  come  outside.  He  fol- 
lowed and  then  noticed  that  the  men  were  making 
preparations  for  moving.  The  tent  was  taken  down 
and  stored  away,  and  then  all  the  group  started. 
Two  men  were  carrying  Mr.  Morris  who  was  now 
beginning  to  show  signs  of  consciousness.  They 
walked  for  a  way,  and  then  Sam  asked,  "Hadn't 
we  better  go  back  on  our  tracks,  it  might  fool  any- 
body who  might  be  following  us." 

"That's  about  the  only  sensible  thing  you  ever 
said,"  gritted  out  George  bitterly. 

Mr.  Morris  had  opened  his  eyes  now  and  was 
staring  around  wildly.  As  his  eye  fell  on  Sam  he 
seemed  to  remember  everything.  The  two  men 
put  him  down  on  his  feet,  and  at  first  he  stag- 
gered weakly.  In  a  few  minutes  however  he  had 
regained  strength  enough  to  walk.  He  went  over 
to  George  and  the  trip  was  then  resumed.  Mr. 
Morris  turned  on  George  and  said  bitterly,  "I 
know  why  you  always  went  with  my  son  now,  but 
thank  goodness  he's  out  of  your  reach." 

"I'm  not  with  them,  I  have  been  captured  my- 


114        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

self,"  replied  George,  "the  other  boys  have  gone 
back  to  town  to  get  constables  to  help  them." 

After  Mr.  Morris  was  assured  of  this  he  begged 
George's  pardon.  After  a  walk  of  five  more 
minutes,  they  suddenly  came  upon  the  men's 
cabin.  Before  entering  the  men  tied  George  and 
Mr.  Morris  and  threw  them  both  into  a  corner. 
They  stayed  in  this  position  for  half  an  hour  or 
more  and  then  suddenly  George  glanced  toward 
the  window.  His  heart  leapt  into  his  mouth,  for 
he  could  see  the  features  of  Bob  outlined  against 
the  window  pane.  The  men  were  playing  cards 
while  Sam  watched  them,  and  the  boys  were  not 
seen. 

The  three  boys  outside  were  now  talking. 

"They  are  in  there  sure  enough,"  called  Bob, 
softly,  as  he  dropped  from  the  window. 

"But  how  can  we  get  them,"  woefully  asked 
Dick,  "we  can't  go  in  there  and  just  say  that  we 
want  them." 

"I'll  fix  that,"  grinned  Fred,  displaying  two 
pistols. 

"Where  in  the  world  did  you  get  them?"  asked 
Bob  in  amazement. 

"While  those  two  policemen  were  arguing  with 


A  Mysterious  Letter  115 

us,  and  trying  to  get  us  to  go  back  to  town,  you 
noticed  that  I  got  near  up  to  them,  didn't  you?" 

"Yes,"  agreed  the  two  boys. 

"Well,  while  I  was  near  them  I  got  their  two 
guns  out  of  their  holsters." 

"I  could  kiss  you  for  that,"  smiled  Dick,  and 
he  and  Bob  took  hold  of  the  guns  and  slowly 
advanced  to  the  cabin. 

They  stepped  into  the  room,  and  as  their  shad- 
ows darkened  the  doorway  the  men  sprang  up. 
They  reached  for  their  guns,  but  before  they  could 
touch  them  a  bullet  sang  over  their  heads. 

"That's  just  a  warning,"  grunted  Bob,  "leave 
those  guns  alone." 

Fred  advanced  and  got  the  guns  and  thus  com- 
pletely disarmed  the  men. 

After  this  Fred  advanced  to  George  and  Mr. 
Morris  and  cut  the  ropes  that  bound  them.  All 
took  a  gun  and  leveled  them  at  the  men's  heads. 

"Come  along  here,"  ordered  Mr.  Morris 
sternly. 

The  men  cursed  under  their  breath  but  ad- 
vanced slowly.  With  the  men  in  front  of  them 
the  whole  group  started  towards  the  town.  In  a 
little  while  they  all  heard  a  body  fall  behind  them. 


116        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

The  eyes  of  all  were  distracted  for  a  moment, 
and  the  men  and  Sam  seizing  the  opportunity 
sprung  into  the  woods.  Dick  turned  just  in  time 
to  see  them  all  disappearing  into  the  woods.  He 
fired  at  them  and  a  groan  of  pain  came  from  Sam. 

"I  guess  Sam  won't  forget  me  in  a  hurry," 
Dick  said  grimly. 

He  turned  back  and  saw  Bob  just  rising  from 
the  ground. 

"Let  the  men  go,"  said  Mr.  Morris,  and  then 
turning  to  Bob  he  asked,  "Anything  the  matter?" 

"I've  sprained  my  ankle,"  said  Bob  weakly. 

They  picked  him  up  and  carried  him  into  town. 
After  a  long  time  they  reached  Mr.  Morris '  home, 
and  Mrs.  Morris  came  running  out 

She  fell  around  her  husband's  neck,  and  then 
turned  all  her  attention  to  Bob.  He  was  carried 
in  and  laid  on  the  couch.  Mrs.  Morris  then  came 
back  and  said,  "Dick,  here's  a  letter  that  came 
for  you  about  three  minutes  ago — it  was  slipped 
under  the  door." 

They  crowded  around  him  while  he  tore  it  open. 
He  read  it  and  then  turned  to  them  and  smiled. 

"Read  it  to  us,"  said  Mr.  Morris,  "don't  keep 
us  in  suspense  any  longer." 


A  Mysterious  Letter  117 

Dick  read  the  letter,  which  said: 

"Next  time  it  won't  be  so  easy  to  get  away. 
Next  time  we  get  you  it  means  death.  We'll  get 
you  Dick  for  shooting  Sam." 

There  was  no  signature,  but  they  did  not  have 
to  be  told  who  it  was  from. 

"We'd  better  not  be  captured  again,"  laughed 
George,  as  he  threw  the  note  into  the  fire. 

The  afternoon  passed  uneventfully,  and  the 
boys  went  to  sleep  that  night  with  nothing  on  their 
minds.  About  midnight  they  were  awakened  bj 
hearing  some  one  moving  about  down  stairs.  They 
got  out  of  bed  but  Mr.  Morris  called  up  to  them, 
"Don't  worry,  it's  only  me.'* 

They  went  back  to  bed  and  were  just  dozing 
off  again  when  they  heard  a  scuffle  down  stairs, 
and  then  a  sharp  shot  rang  out  over  the  still  air! 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  EIDDLE  OF  THE  BOATHOUSE 

The  boys  were  out  of  bed  in  a  flash  and  were 
running  downstairs.  Here  they  met  Mrs.  Morris 
who  was  wringing  her  hands  and  crying. 

"I  dread  to  go  in  there,"  she  shivered. 

The  boys  went  to  the  door  of  Mr.  Morris'  room 
and  threw  it  open.  It  was  empty ! 

They  went  to  the  room  that  Mr.  Morris  used  for 
his  home  office  and  threw  that  open.  They  turned 
on  the  light,  and  there  lying  on  the  floor  in  a  pool 
of  blood  was  Mr.  Morris.  Mrs.  Morris  ran  to  the 
telephone  and  soon  Dr.  Mathews,  the  doctor, 
entered  the  room.  He  bent  over  the  wounded  man, 
and  looked  him  over.  He  was  put  in  bed  and  the 
boys  anxiously  awaited  the  doctor's  answer  as 
to  whether  Mr.  Morris  would  live  or  not.  After 
a  restless  half  hour  of  waiting,  the  doctor  came 
softly  down  stairs,  followed  by  Mrs.  Morris. 
They  rushed  to  the  doctor  and  breathlessly  asked, 
"Will  he  get  well," 

118 


Riddle  of  the  Boathouse  119 

"I  can't  say  as  to  that,"  was  the  doctor's  ver- 
dict, "a  fraction  of  an  inch  more  and  he  would 
have  died  outright.  He  may  die  in  a  short  while, 
or  he  may  linger  for  a  few  months,  but  there  may 
be  a  chance  that  he  will  get  well,  but  he  must  have 
quiet. ' ' 

"We'll  see  that  he  gets  it,"  murmured  the  boys. 

After  the  doctor  was  gone  the  boys  grabbed 
what  little  sleep  was  left  before  morning.  The 
next  morning  they  moved  around  quietly  for  fear 
of  making  any  noise.  The  next  three  days  passed 
quickly  and  the  doctor 's  face  was  very  grave.  On 
the  fourth  day,  however,  while  they  were  waiting 
for  the  doctor  to  come  down  they  saw  him  coming, 
while  behind  him  came  Mrs.  Morris  wreathed  in 
smiles. 

The  boys  went  over  to  the  doctor  and  he  said, 
"Your  father  would  like  to  see  you  all." 

They  all  ran  upstairs  and  burst  into  the  room. 
Mr.  Morris  turned  over  and  smiled  at  them. 

"Boys,  I've  something  important  to  tell  you," 
he  said.  The  boys  waited,  and  Mr.  Morris  went 
on:  "I  presume  you  know  that  my  desk  was 
rifled  of  my  papers.  One  of  them  was  very  im- 
portant. It  was  an  invention  that  I  had  fixed. 


120        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

It  means  my  fortune  if  I  can  only  get  it  back." 

"We'll  get  it  for  you,"  said  Bob. 

The  doctor  came  in  then,  and  the  boys  had  to 
leave. 

They  went  outside  in  a  very  happy  but  thought- 
ful frame  of  mind.  There  was  a  new  boathouse 
being  built  beside  the  old  one.  They  went  into  the 
old  boathouse,  and  here  they  smelled  liquor. 

"Phew,"  said  Fred,  in  disgust,  "somebody  has 
been  making  this  place  a  hangout." 

"I  should  say  they  have,"  returned  Dick;  "look 
here,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  pile  of  cigar  stubs. 
They  strolled  out  again  and  walked  around  town. 
When  they  returned  to  the  farm  they  sat  down  to 
an  appetizing  feast.  After  lunch  Bob  asked,  "I 
wonder  who  could  have  taken  dad's  paper!" 

"I'd  like  to  get  hold  of  him,"  gritted  Fred, 
clenching  his  fists. 

That  night  after  dinner  the  boys  went  out  once 
more  to  town.  While  strolling  along  near  the  old 
boathouse  they  suddenly  heard  a  splash  of  oars 
and  an  angry  voice  talking.  "Wky  don't  you  be 
more  careful  with  those  oars?"  it  said. 

"Boys,"  said  Bob,  turning  a  startled  face 
toward  his  chums,  "I'm  going  to  investigate  this 


Riddle  of  the  Boathouse  121 

thing.    It  looks  queer  to  me. ' ' 

They  crept  up  and  could  see  some  men  getting 
out  of  their  boat.  They  softly  went  up  to  the  old 
boathouse.  By  looking  in  at  a  window  they  could 
see  all  the  men  grouped  around  a  lantern. 

"Why,  there's  a  boy,"  whispered  Dick. 

Just  then  the  boy  turned  for  an  instant,  and  our 
friends  recognized  the  features  of  Sam  Harding. 

They  now  turned  their  attention  to  what  the 
men  were  saying.  One  said, i  l  How  much  will  you 
sell  it  to  us  for?" 

"Ten  thousand  dollars,"  said  a  man  whom  the 
boys  knew  was  Mr.  Harding. 

"Ten  thousand  dollars!  You  must  be  crazy!" 
angrily  cried  another  of  the  three  strangers;  "we 
won't  pay  it." 

"Just  look  at  that,"  said  Mr.  Harding,  holding 
the  paper  up  in  front  of  him. 

"That's  father's  paper,"  angrily  cried  Bob. 

"Listen,  mow,"  said  Dick,  holding  up  his  hand. 

"We'll  gire  you  $2,000  for  it,"  said  the  first 
speaker. 

"No." 

"Five  thousand  dollars?" 

"No." 


122        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

'  *  Not  a  bit  more  than  $8,000, ' '  sneered  the  man, 
angrily. 

After  a  great  deal  of  haggling  Sam's  father 
accepted  the  offer  of  $8,000. 

"The  villians,"  muttered  Boh. 

The  men  then  brought  some  whiskey  and  cigars, 
and  they  sat  down  again  and  smoked  and  drank. 

The  boys  waited  for  awhile,  expecting  to  hear 
more  information.  But  as  they  were  about  to 
part,  one  of  the  strangers  said,  "Meet  here  to- 
morrow and  we'll  fix  up  the  deal." 

The  boys  then  started  for  home  and  after  a 
long  walk  reached  it.  They  all  sat  down  and  once 
more  waited  for  the  doctor  to  come  down.  When 
he  did  he  told  them  to  go  up  and  see  Mr.  Morris 
again.  They  entered  the  sick  man's  room  and  he 
turned  to  them  and  asked  weakly,  "Have  you 
found  any  trace  of  the  papers  yet?"  Dick  was 
about  to  launch  into  full  details  when  a  warning 
glance  from  Bob  stopped  him. 

"We  have  a  slight  trace  of  them,"  answered 
Bob.  They  talked  a  little  longer  and  then  the  boys 
went  out.  That  night  they  once  more  stole  down 
to  the  boathouse.  After  waiting  for  a  while  they 
could  hear  the  whole  group  coming.  They  went 


Riddle  of  the  Boathouse  123 

into  the  boathouse  and  they  started  to  talk  once 
more. 

"Have  you  got  the  money?"  asked  Mr.  Hard- 
ing. This  was  passed  over  and  Mr.  Harding 
grunted. 

They  talked  awhile  longer  in  low  tones  and  then 
they  left. 

The  boys  stole  in  and  searched  around.  Hardly 
had  they  been  in  two  minutes  when  the  door  was 
slammed  shut.  They  rushed  to  the  back  door,  only 
to  find  that  locked  also.  As  they  stared  at  each 
other  a  peculiar  smell  filled  the  air.  It  was  the 
smell  of  smoke.  As  they  looked,  the  boathouse 
burst  into  flames  before  their  eyes ! 

"We  must  find  a  way  out  of  this,"  said  George 
when  they  had  somewhat  regained  their  com- 
posure. 

Dick  blurted  out,  ' '  This  is  our  only  way,  and  it 
is  dangerous,  but  I'm  going  to  do  it."  He  showed 
them  a  hole  near  the  top  of  the  boathouse,  and 
only  persons  with  good  eyes  could  see  it.  They 
took  all  the  old  boxes  they  could  find  and  piled 
them  one  above  the  other.  Dick  climbed  on  top 
of  these,  but  still  could  not  touch  the  hole. 

All  of  a  sudden  Bob  gave  a  cry  and  told  his 


124        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

scheme  to  the  other  boys.  He  stood  under  the 
hole  while  George  stood  on  his  shoulder,  then 
Fred  stepped  on  George's  shoulders  and  Dick 
climbed  on  Fred's  shoulders.  Only  boys  with  good 
training  could  do  this,  but  our  friends  were  good 
at  all  gymnastics  and  this  helped  them. 

Dick  was  able  to  grasp  at  the  edge  of  the  hole 
and  pulled  himself  up.  A  tramping  on  the  roof 
told  them  that  he  had  made  it.  The  air  was  get- 
ting hot  now  and  the  fire  was  getting  worse.  They 
were  soon  gasping  for  breath. 

All  of  a  sudden  the  door  sprung  open  and  a  gust 
of  fresh  air  ran  into  the  boathouse.  The  boys 
staggered  out  and  fell  on  the  ground  outside.  The 
fire  had  been  seen  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
and  soon  the  fire  engines  came  up.  A  stream  of 
water  was  soon  played  into  the  building.  The 
sheriff  came,  and  when  he  saw  the  boys  gasping 
for  breath  he  asked  sternly: 

"Do  you  know  who  it  was  set  tkis  boathouse 
on  fire?" 

"Sure,"  said  Dick,  and  he  told  them  who  it  was. 

"You  don't  expect  me  to  believe  that,  do  you?" 
asked  the  sheriff  with  a  laugh. 

"I  sure  do,"  answered  Dick,  growing  angry. 


Riddle  of  the  Boathouse  125 

"Don't  lie,  you  might  as  well  say  you  did  it 
and  be  through. ' ' 

Just  then  a  cry  came  from  the  crowd,  and  look- 
ing toward  the  building  they  saw  that  the  fire  was 
extinguished. 

"Come  in  here  with  me,"  commanded  the 
sheriff. 

Dick  muttered  something  under  his  breath,  but 
nevertheless  followed  the  sheriff.  When  they  got 
in  the  sheriff  looked  all  around. 

"Ah,  just  as  I  thought,"  he  said  in  a  gutteral 
voice,  and  held  up  to  view  some  cigar  and  cigar- 
ette stubs. 

"Smoking,  eh?"  he  asked  with  a  sneer;  "you 
had  better  come  with  me. ' ' 

Dick  started  to  protest,  but  was  silenced  by  the 
sheriff.  The  boys  followed  him  to  his  office,  and 
here  the  sheriff  turned  on  them  and  said,  "How 
did  that  fire  start?" 

Bob  told  the  same  tale  as  Dick  had,  and  then  the 
sheriff  asked,  "Locked  in,  eh?  Well,  I'll  have  to 
see  about  this. ' ' 

After  an  investigation  things  were  soon  fixed 
with  the  sheriff  and  they  started  for  home.  Next 
morning  they  awoke  late,  went  outside,  and  did 


126        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

not  have  a  chance  to  see  their  father.  They  went 
out  into  the  country,  and  as  they  were  walking 
along  suddenly  Bob  gave  a  cry  and  pointed  to  an 
approaching  buggy. 

''There's  one  of  the  men  who  bought  that  docu- 
ment. I  'm  going  to  get  him. ' ' 

As  the  buggy  started  to  pass  them,  Bob  took  a 
leap  and  landed  on  the  seat  beside  the  man. 

"Stop  this  buggy,"  he  ordered,  sternly. 

The  buggy  was  stopped,  and  Bob  asked,  "Why 
did  you  lock  that  door  on  us  last  night?" 

"I — don't  hit,"  whimpered  the  man,  cowering. 

"I'm  not  going  to  hit  you,"  said  Bob  scornfully, 
"but  I  want  my  father's  document." 

"I  haven't  got  it,"  said  the  man  boldly. 

"Don't  lie — we  saw  the  whole  transaction." 

"Then  catch  me,"  yelled  the  man,  and  getting 
Bob  off  his  guard  he  gave  him  a  push  that  sent 
him  headlong  into  the  road.  At  the  same  instant 
he  whipped  up  his  horse  and  dashed  off  at  a  great 
rate  of  speed.  The  other  three  boys  ran  after  him, 
but  the  buggy  soon  left  them  way  behind.  They 
went  to  town,  and  as  they  walked  along  they 
suddenly  met  the  man  whom  they  had  stopped 
from  robbing  the  old  fellow  in  the  cabin. 


Riddle  of  the  Boathouse  127 

They  talked  for  awhile,  then  of  a  sudden  Bob 
asked,  "Did  you  see  a  buggy  dash  through  here 
about  noon?" 

"Why,  yes,"  replied  the  young  man;  "I'll  tell 
you  about  it.  I  saw  it  dash  through  here  and  I 
followed  it.  It  went  down  to  the  depot  and  the 
man  driving  it  bought  a  ticket  to  New  York." 

The  boys  stopped  and  gazed  at  each  other  with 
a  surprise  that  was  hard  to  conceal. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
OFF  FOR  NEW  YORK 

When  the  man  saw  the  boys  look  at  each  other, 
he  stopped  short  and  asked,  "Why,  is  anything 
the  matter?" 

'  *  I  should  think  there  is, ' '  said  Bob,  and  he  told 
the  man  all  about  it. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?"  he  asked. 

"I  guess  I'll  go  to  New  York,"  was  the  reply. 

"If  you  go  to  New  York  I'll  go  too,"  broke  in 
Dick. 

"I  don't  care  who  goes,"  said  Bob,  with  a  wry 
smile. 

"If  you  don't  care  who  goes,  I'll  go  too," 
chimed  in  the  young  man. 

"You?"  asked  Bob  in  surprise;  "you  have  to 
work,  don't  you?" 

"Oh,  I'm  on  my  vacation;  I  get  two  weeks," 
he  added  proudly. 

"Then  I'll  be  glad  to  have  you,"  replied  Bob 
warmly. 

128 


Off  for  New  York  129 

It  was  soon  decided  that  the  whole  group  should 
go.  They  went  back  to  Bob's  house  and  told  his 
mother  where  they  were  going. 

It  was  then  decided  they  should  go  on  the  next 
day.  The  following  morning  the  boys  rose  early 
and  went  in  to  see  their  father.  They  told  him 
where  they  were  going  and  he  urged  them  to  go 
right  away.  The  boys  came  downstairs  and  each 
had  a  small  bundle  of  clothes  done  up.  They  met 
Mr.  Pier  son  outside  and  they  started  for  the  de- 
pot. Three  hours  later  found  them  in  New  York. 
Mr.  Pierson  showed  them  around,  for  he  had  been 
in  New  York  before.  They  first  found  a  cheap 
hotel,  and  then  they  went  out  onto  the  street. 
They  were  walking  around  when  Bob  uttered  a 
sharp  cry. 

" There >s  that  man,"  Bob  whispered,  pointing 
across  the  street. 

They  started  after  him  but  he  saw  them  as 
quickly,  and  started  away  in  a  run.  After  going 
a  little  way  they  lost  him  completely. 

"I  wish  New  York  wasn't  so  big,"  said  George, 
looking  about  him. 

Nothing  more  happened,  but  that  night  Fred 
and  Dick  went  out  alone.  Scarcely  had  they  got- 


130        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

ten  into  the  street  when  they  saw  the  man  they 
were  in  search  of. 

' '  Let 's  follow  him, '  *  suggested  Dick.  They  fol- 
lowed him  for  a  way  and  soon  he  turned  into  a 
dirty,  narrow  street.  They  tracked  him  down 
here,  and  soon  they  saw  him  turn  into  a  gloomy 
building.  When  they  came  up  to  it,  they  saw 
that  it  was  a  cheap  restaurant.  They  looked  in 
and  soon  the  man  was  joined  by  two  others. 

"All  accounted  for,"  laughed  Dick  softly. 

Just  then  they  saw  the  other  two  men  rise  and 
go  out  the  back  way.  They  were  so  busy  noting 
the  man  that  was  left  that  they  did  not  hear  steps 
in  back  of  them  until  one  of  the  men  cried  out : 

"What  do  you  mean  by  watching  us?" 

The  two  boys  turned  to  see  the  two  men  glaring 
down  at  them. 

"I  want  that  document,"  said  Dick  sternly. 

"What  document?"  returned  the  men;  "we 
haven't  any  document." 

"I  want  my  uncle's  document,"  said  Dick  once 
more,  for  Mr.  Morris  had  told  him  to  call  him 
uncle. 

"You're  a  maniac,"  said  the  men,  "and  you 
ought  to  be  in  the  asylum." 


Off  for  New  York  131 

"I  want  that  paper,  and  want  it  quick,"  was 
the  determined  reply  from  Dick. 

"Well,  you  won't  get  it,"  yelled  the  men,  and 
jumping  toward  the  two  boys  soon  had  them  cap- 
tured. The  man  that  they  had  been  trailing  came 
out  now  and  helped  in  their  capture.  They  were 
soon  tied,  and  going  farther  down  the  street  they 
came  upon  a  dark  and  dreary  building.  They  went 
in  this  and  went  up  to  the  top  floor.  They  entered 
a  room,  and  the  men  threw  them  into  a  corner. 

"Open  your  mouths,"  they  ordered. 

The  boys  refused  at  first,  but  the  men  held  their 
noses  until  they  were  compelled  to  open  their 
mouths  for  breath.  The  gag  was  stuck  in  and 
the  boys  could  not  talk  at  all.  They  took  a  match 
and  thrust  it  into  a  pile  of  paper. 

"Good-by!"  they  called  mockingly;  "we  hope 
you  have  a  good  time."  The  paper  was  now 
blazing  brightly  and  the  men  left. 

The  boys  tried  their  utmost  to  break  the  rope 
that  bound  them.  Joy!  One  of  Fred's  strands 
broke.  Only  one  single  strand,  but  it  gave  him 
hope.  He  strained  all  his  muscles  and  suddenly 
another  strand  broke.  Then  another  one.  Soon 
Fred  was  at  liberty.  He  rushed  to  the  paper  and 


132        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

stamped  the  blaze  out  just  in  time.  He  then  went 
over  to  Dick  and  untied  him. 

' '  That  was  a  narrow  escape,  and  I  owe  my  life 
to  you,"  said  Dick  earnestly,  and  there  was  a 
tremor  in  his  voice. 

'  *  You  must  be  getting  sick, ' '  grinned  Fred ;  *  *  let 
me  feel  your  pulse.*' 

Dick  laughed  and  the  two  boys  went  down  to 
the  street. 

"They're  gone,"  said  Dick,  "so  we  might  as 
well  go  back  to  the  hotel." 

As  they  were  passing  the  restaurant  they  sud- 
denly saw  Mr.  Pierson  ahead  of  them.  They  ran 
up  to  him  and  Mr.  Pierson  asked,  "Where  have 
you  been?" 

They  told  him,  and  he  replied,  "Wait  till  I  get 
at  those  two  men.  I  won't  do  anything  to  them ! ' ' 
and  he  showed  them  his  muscles.  They  stuck  out 
like  bands  of  iron.  While  they  were  going  back 
to  the  hotel  Mr.  Pierson  said,  "I  thought  of  hav- 
ing the  entire  police  force  out  looking  for  you. ' ' 

"No  fear  of  your  ever  doing  that,"  laughed 
the  two  boys;  "you  know  how  we  can  take  care 
of  ourselves." 

"I  ought  to,"  grinned  the  young  man. 


Off  for  New  York  133 

They  soon  arrived  at  the  hotel  and  saw  the 
other  two  boys  waiting  for  them. 

' '  So  the  prodigals  have  returned.  Where  were 
you?"  asked  Bob. 

The  story  was  soon  told,  and  Bob  said,  "Pm 
going  to  keep  you  two  in  my  sight  from  now  on." 

They  soon  went  to  bed  and  woke  early  next 
morning. 

"Well,  here's  another  day's  suspense,"  said 
Mr.  Pierson,  with  a  yawn. 

"Yes,  and  another  day  of  eating,"  rejoined  Bob 
with  a  laugh,  as  the  breakfast  bell  rang.  They 
sat  down  to  a  table  and  all  ate  readily.  After 
breakfast  was  over  they  all  went  outside. 

"This  is  fine,"  said  Bob,  as  he  stretched  out  on 
a  bench  in  a  park.  They  shortly  went  down  to  the 
ocean,  and  Bob  said  that  it  was  the  first  time  he 
had  ever  seen  it.  "Then  you've  missed  some- 
thing," said  Mr.  Pierson ;  "I've  been  a  sailor,  sail- 
ing over  theee  seas  too. ' ' 

"Is  that  where  you  developed  your  muscles," 
asked  Bob  in  admiration. 

After  gazing  at  the  ocean  for  awhile  they 
strolled  around  the  wharves. 

"This  is  dandy  to  have  this  sea-breeze,"  said 


134        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

Bob,  inhaling  the  sweet  air.  They  walked  around 
for  awhile  and  then  started  to  go  back  to  their 
hotel. 

As  they  were  returning  they  suddenly  heard  a 
piercing  scream,  and  looking  back  they  saw  a  run- 
away horse  coming  down  the  street  at  full  speed, 
and  in  the  carriage  that  the  horse  was  pulling  sat 
a  fair  girl  of  about  fourteen! 


CHAPTER  XVII 
A  DARING  RESCUE 

The  boys  stared  at  it,  and  then  they  noticed 
that  Dick  was  not  with  them.  Looking  into  the 
street  they  saw  Dick  right  in  the  path  of  the 
advancing  horse  that  rushed  forward  like  a  whirl- 
wind. His  boy  chums  stared  at  him  with  pale 
faces,  as  the  horse  came  onward. 

All  of  a  sudden,  just  as  the  horse  was  passing, 
Dick  gave  a  leap  and  grasped  the  horse's  bridle. 
The  horse  slowed  down  as  the  double  weight  got 
stronger,  but  in  an  instant  he  was  away  again. 
He  shook  his  head  and  Dick  swung  back  and  forth 
a  foot  away  from  the  horse's  hoofs.  The  boy 
chums  were  running  behind,  but  were  unable  to 
catch  the  horse. 

After  a  long  time  of  swinging  to  the  bridle,  Dick 
gave  a  hard  jerk,  bringing  the  horse  to  his  knees. 
The  girl  was  pitched  into  the  street,  and  some  men 
who  were  standing  around  rushed  to  her.  Dick 
succeeded  in  quieting  the  horse  and  the  animal 

135 


136        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

stood  there  trembling  all  over  with  cold  sweat 
rolling  down  its  sides. 

Just  then  an  automobile  came  up  and  an  elderly 
man  jumped  out  of  it. 

"Where's  my  daughter?"  he  asked  anxiously. 

"She  is  in  my  shop,"  said  a  fat  lady,  coming 
across  to  them. 

The  man  rushed  over  to  the  lady's  shop.  Just 
then  a  doctor  came  up,  followed  by  a  curious  crowd 
of  men  and  boys.  He  went  into  the  shop,  but 
came  out  quickly. 

Dick  went  up  to  him  and  asked,  "Is  she  hurt 
much?" 

"No,"  was  the  reply;  "she  was  only  stunned." 

Dick  went  into  the  crowd,  and  at  the  back  joined 
his  chums.  They  all  started  to  go  to  the  hotel, 
but  had  not  gone  far  when  a  man  rushed  up  to 
them. 

'  *  They  want  you  back  there, ' '  he  said. 

The  boys  went  back  and  here  they  met  the  girl  'a 
father. 

"Which  one  of  you  saved  my  girlT"  he  asked 
kindly. 

Dick  grinned,  and  would  not  have  gone  up  if 
his  chums  had  not  pushed  him  forward.  As  he 


A  Daring  Rescue  137 

came  up  the  man  asked,  "Are  you  the  one  who 
saved  my  little  girl?" 

"Well,  'er,"  stammered  Dick,  "I  was  the  one 
who  stopped  the  horse. ' ' 

"I  want  to  reward  you,"  said  the  man  with  a 
smile;  "take  this,"  and  he  held  out  a  roll  of  bills 
to  the  astonished  Dick. 

"No,  sir,  I  don't  want  your  money,"  said  Dick, 
drawing  back. 

The  man  tried  to  push  the  bills  into  Dick's 
hands,  but  could  not  do  it. 

"Well  then  if  you  are  so  obstinate,"  cried  the 
man,  "take  my  card,  and  if  you  are  ever  in  trouble 
call  on  me." 

Just  then  the  girl  rushed  up  and  kissed  Dick. 
Then  leaving  him  fiery  red  she  merrily  skipped 
over  to  her  father.  The  man  turned  away  with  a 
smile  and  went  over  to  his  automobile.  The  crowd 
soon  dwindled  away  and  left  Dick  staring  wildly 
at  the  disappearing  automobile. 

"Who  was  that  man?"  asked  Bob,  coming  for- 
ward. 

Dick  looked  at  the  card,  which  read,  "Mr.  Har- 
old J.  Brown,  Dealer  in  Stocks  and  Bonds,  Wall 
Street,  New  York,  N.  Y." 


138        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

As  they  went  Fred  said, ' '  This  ought  to  be  good 
for  the  newspapers.  'Dick  Coleman  Rescues  Fair 
Damsel — Falls  in  Love  with  Her,  and  is  Kissed.'  ' 

Dick  clenched  his  fist  and  said  angrily, ' '  If  you 
weren't  my  chum  I  would  lick  you." 

They  walked  on  to  the  hotel  and  after  a  long 
walk  reached  it. 

"This  is  the  life  for  me,"  said  George,  throwing 
himself  down  on  the  sofa. 

They  soon  went  down  to  lunch,  and  after  they 
were  done  went  outside.  After  going  a  little  way 
Dick  remembered  something  that  he  had  le.ft  in 
the  hotel  and  hurried  back  for  it.  He  got  it,  and 
as  he  was  coming  downstairs  again  he  saw  the  man 
that  they  were  after  go  into  a  room  underneath 
theirs. 

"So  this  is  where  they  live,"  he  mused;  "I'm 
glad  they  don't  know  that  we  are  right  above 
them." 

When  he  got  back  to  his  chums  he  told  them 
what  he  had  seen. 

"Then  we  ought  to  be  able  to  get  the  document 
soon,"  said  Bob  joyfully. 

They  walked  around  all  the  afternoon  and  then 
went  back  to  the  hotel.  As  they  sat  down  to  din- 


A  Daring  Rescue  139 

ner  they  looked  all  around  to  see  if  they  could  see 
the  man  they  were  after,  but  he  was  no  place  in 
sight 

"I  see  that  he's  afraid  to  come  down  and  eat," 
said  Bob  dryly. 

After  dinner  they  went  up  to  their  room  and 
read.  At  nine  o'clock,  just  as  they  were  going 
to  bed,  Bob  gave  a  cry  and  pointed  to  a  hole  in 
the  floor. 

1  'We  can  see  what  those  men  are  doing,"  he 
said. 

They  took  turns  in  looking  through  and  each 
could  see  the  men  looking  at  a  paper. 

Soon  the  men  got  up  and  put  the  paper  under 
the  clock  and  then  the  light  was  turned  out. 

"We  know  where  it  is  at  any  rate,'*  laughed 
Bob  delightedly. 

The  boys  soon  fell  asleep  and  woke  late  in  the 
morning.  After  eating  a  cold  breakfast  they  went 
out  into  the  street.  They  walked  around  for  a 
time,  and  then  went  into  a  restaurant  to  eat. 

The  other  boys  went  back  to  the  hotel,  but  Dick 
stayed  out  longer.  Having  nothing  to  do  he  sud- 
denly remembered  the  card  he  had  in  his  pocket. 
He  got  on  a  street  car  and  after  being  directed 


140        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

several  times  he  reached  Wall  Street.  He  was 
amazed  at  the  bustle  of  the  people  as  they  walked 
down  the  street,  and  he  followed  them. 

Soon  he  saw  a  large  building  in  front  of  him. 
The  sign  on  it  read,  *  *  Mr.  Brown,  Dealer  in  Stocks 
and  Bonds." 

"This  must  be  him,"  said  Dick,  as  he  walked 
upstairs.  He  soon  came  to  a  room  which  he  saw 
to  be  Mr.  Brown's.  He  walked  in  and  here  an 
office  boy  stopped  him. 

"What  do  you  want?"  he  asked. 

"I  want  to  see  Mr.  Brown,"  was  the  answer. 

Just  then  Mr.  Brown  came  in,  and  on  seeing 
Dick  shook  hands  heartily  with  him. 

They  talked  for  awhile,  and  then  Mr.  Brown 
said,  "I  hope  that  you  will  come  to  see  me  soon — 
Alice  is  wild  to  see  you. ' ' 

Dick  got  to  the  hotel  just  in  time  to  eat  dinner. 
As  he  and  Bob  went  to  their  room  he  saw  the  door 
of  the  room  that  the  men  occupied  was  open.  They 
softly  went  in  and  looked  under  the  clock  for  the 

document,  but  it  was  not  there ! 

#«**** 

After  breakfast  the  next  morning  they  went  out 
and  walked  around.  Dick  went  by  himself,  as  he 


A  Daring  Rescue  141 

was  going  to  see  Mr.  Brown's  daughter,  Alice. 
He  reached  the  house  after  a  great  deal  of  diffi- 
culty, and  when  he  first  saw  it  he  stood  like  one 
in  a  trance.  He  had  seen  many  splendid  mansions 
before,  but  none  as  pretty  as  this.  He  soon  got 
over  his  spell  and  walked  up  to  the  door.  He  rang 
the  bell  and  the  door  was  swung  open  by  Alice 
herself. 

"I  saw  you  coming,"  she  said,  "so  I  rushed 
down  and  opened  the  door."  And  then  she  con- 
tinued, "Why  don't  you  come  in?"  for  Dick  was 
halting  at  the  threshold. 

Dick  went  into  the  mansion  scared  of  every- 
thing he  saw,  for  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever 
been  in  a  house  as  beautiful  as  this  one.  They 
sat  down  in  a  room  that  Dick  thought  was  about 
the  prettiest  in  New  York. 

Alice  noticed  his  gaze  and  asked  sweetly, 
"Wouldn't  you  like  to  see  the  house?" 

*'I  don't  care  if  I  do,"  was  the  rather  hesitating 
reply.  She  showed  him  the  house  and  Dick  de- 
clared that  each  room  was  better  than  the  former 
one. 

All  of  a  sudden  Dick  glanced  at  the  clock  and 
said,  "Twelve  o'clock;  I  must  be  going." 


142        In  ifie  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"Won't  you  eat  here  today?"  asked  Miss  Alice. 

Dick  consented  and  soon  a  lunch  fit  for  a  king- 
was  brought  in.  Dick  blinked  at  it  for  a  moment 
and  then  at  Miss  Alice. 

"Pitch  right  into  it,"  laughed  that  young  lady. 

Dick  needed  no  second  urging  but  went  for  it. 
After  all  had  been  satisfied,  the  boy  and  girl  sat 
down  again.  They  strolled  into  the  park  and  went 
back  to  the  mansion.  The  time  flew  past  and  at 
four  o'clock  Dick  said  he  must  be  going. 

Alice  expressed  her  wish  for  him  to  come  back 
again,  and  then  Dick  left.  He  strolled  along 
whistling  and  then  got  a  car  and  rode  down  to  the 
wharves.  It  was  growing  dark  quicker  than  he 
expected  and  darkness  soon  fell  on  him. 

"I  may  as  well  walk  home,"  he  mused;  "it  isn't 
so  far." 

He  strolled  along  whistling  and  soon  he  got  out 
of  the  wharves.  He  walked  around  then  glanced 
at  his  watch. 

"Why,  it's  only  five  o'clock — it  got  dark  soon; 
there  must  be  going  to  be  a  storm. ' ' 

He  met  a  sailor  and  asked  him  whether  there 
was  going  to  be  a  storm  or  not.  "No,"  grinned 
that  individual;  "what  makes  you  think  so?" 


A  Daring  Rescue  143 

"It's  so  dark,"  replied  Dick,  and  walked  on. 

Suddenly  he  went  into  a  dark  and  cramped 
street,  and  he  walked  along  this.  As  he  was  half 
way  through  however  he  saw  a  light  in  a  base- 
ment. He  started  to  pass  it  when  he  heard  a  low 
groan  which  came  from  someone  in  agony! 


Let  us  return  to  the  boys  that  Dick  had  left. 

"Well,  boys,"  asked  Mr.  Pierson,  "what  are 
we  going  to  do  today?" 

"I'll  put  all  that  in  your  hands,"  said  Bob. 

"Then  the  first  thing  we'll  do  is  to  go  to  Central 
Park,"  answered  the  young  man. 

They  started  out  and  after  a  long  walk  they 
reached  Central  Park.  They  strolled  around  look- 
ing at  things  and  Mr.  Pierson  asked,  "Isn't  that 
your  enemy  over  there?"  The  boys  looked  and 
there  they  saw  Sam  Harding  and  three  other  men. 
They  came  up  near,  and  then  saw  them  joined  by 
another  man.  Their  attention  was  then  attracted 
by  a  well-dressed  man  coming  down  the  walk.  One 
of  the  men  jostled  against  him  and  nearly  knocked 
him  down. 

"Oh,  excuse  me,"  he  said. 

"Oh,  it's  nothing,"  said  the  man,  with  a  smile. 

The  boys  were  near  now,  and  they  saw  another 

144 


An  Interesting  Adventure  145 

of  Sam's  group  go  nearer  and  steal  the  well- 
dressed  man's  watch. 

" Here's  a  job  for  us,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Pierson, 
advancing.  He  came  up  near,  and  with  a  powerful 
sweep  of  his  hand  knocked  both  of  the  men  flat. 
He  jumped  on  the  man  who  had  the  watch  and 
started  to  hammer  him. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter  here?"  asked  the 
well-dressed  man  in  a  surprised  tone. 

"If  you'll  look  for  your  watch,"  said  Bob, 
"you'll  see  what  is  the  matter." 

The  man  hastily  looked  for  his  watch  and  when 
he  could  not  find  it  the  whole  situation  came  to 
him. 

"You  take  care  of  this  man  and  we'll  go  after 
the  others,"  called  Mr.  Pierson,  as  they  all  dashed 
off. 

"They  went  down  this  way,"  called  Fred,  indi- 
cating a  street. 

They  rushed  down  it  and  here  they  could  see 
the  robbers  running  before  them. 

They  ran  on  and  gained  inch  by  inch. 

"Hurrah!"  yelled  out  George;  "at  this  rate  we 
will  soon  get  them. ' ' 

They  soom  came  upon  a  crowded  thoroughfare, 

\ 


146        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

when  they  saw  Sam  and  his  gang  get  in  a  taxi  and 
drive  off.  They  hailed  another  taxi  and  they  once 
more  got  on  the  trail.  Sam's  auto  had  a  sub- 
stantial lead  at  first,  but  now  Bob's  taxi  was 
crawling  up. 

' '  They  're  headed  towards  Hudson  River, ' '  said 
Mr.  Pierson,  after  riding  for  twenty  minutes; 
"this  is  the  road  towards  it." 

They  put  on  extra  speed  and  gained  faster. 
Mr.  Pierson 's  statement  was  soon  discovered  to 
be  true,  for  before  them  they  could  see  a  narrow 
streak  of  glimmering  water,  and  as  they  got  nearer 
they  could  see  the  river.  Sam's  auto  reached 
there  a  few  minutes  before  Bob's,  and  they 
jumped  into  a  row  boat  and  rowed  off. 

The  boys  saw  another  boat  a  little  way  up  the 
river,  and  they  jumped  into  this.  As  they  got  out 
into  the  middle  of  the  river  they  saw  a  man  shak- 
ing his  fist  at  them  from  the  shore. 

"He  must  be  the  owner  of  the  boat,  but  we  can't 
help  it  now,"  said  Mr.  Pierson. 

Sam's  boat  gained  on  them.  Mr.  Pierson  and 
Bob,  who  were  rowing,  also  increased  their 
strokes.  They  slowly  crawled  up  and  were  soon 
in  talking  distance  of  the  other  row  boat. 


An  Interesting  Adventure  147 

"Stop  tliat  boat,"  called  George. 

The  men  looked  around  and  on  seeing  the  row 
boat  so  near  they  displayed  a  pistoL 

"Get  back  there,"  shouted  one,  "or  we'll 
shoot!" 

The  boys  were  filled  with  consternation  at  the 
appearance  of  the  pistol  and  stopped  rowing  for 
an  instant.  But  that  was  long  enough  for  the  men 
to  get  ahead  more. 

"I  don't  think  it's  loaded,"  said  Bob;  "come 
on  and  row." 

They  once  more  seized  their  oars  and  swiftly 
shot  down  the  river.  As  they  were  once  more  get- 
ting near  the  other  row  boat  a  bullet  struck  the 
water  ahead  of  them,  sending  up  a  spray. 

"Don't  stop  rowing,"  called  Bob  to  Mr.  Pier- 
son  ; ' '  the  rest  of  you  get  down  into  the  boat. ' ' 

The  boys  fell  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat 
which  once  more  shot  forward.  Another  bullet 
came  and  struck  Bob  in  the  shoulder.  He  gave  a 
cry  of  pain  and  nearly  let  his  oar  drop  into  the 
water.  Fred  sprang  into  Bob's  place,  while  Bob 
fell  down  into  the  boat.  They  had  been  rowing  for 
an  hour  now,  but  the  boat  with  Sam's  gang  was 
far  ahead. 


148        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

*  'This  must  be  Springville, "  said  Mr.  Pierson; 
" we  must  catch  them  before  they  get  there." 

They  increased  their  strokes  wonderfully,  but 
the  other  men  on  seeing  the  town  also  increased 
their  strokes  and  managed  to  keep  their  lead. 
They  reached  Springville  a  good  twenty-five  rods 
before  the  other  boat.  They  sprang  upon  the 
shore  and  darted  away.  As  soon  as  Bob's  craft 
touched  shore  they  leaped  off  and  started  after 
the  men.  They  followed  them  for  a  way  and  then 
saw  them  dart  into  a  building.  They  went  in  after 
them  but  they  were  no  place  in  sight.  After  a 
close  search  they  came  upon  a  door  and  flung  this 
open.  There  were  some  men  in  the  yard  and  they 
asked  them  where  the  men  were. 

"They  went  down  that  way,"  replied  one  of  the 
men,  pointing  toward  the  river. 

"They  went  back  to  the  boat,"  said  George; 
"we  can  catch  them." 

They  hurried  on  and  soon  came  to  the  river,  but 
the  men  were  nowhere  in  sight. 

"Here's  their  boat,  too,"  said  Bob,  pointing  to 
the  craft. 

"That  man  lied  to  us,"  said  Mr.  Pierson  grimly. 
"  I  'm  going  back  and  have  a  reckoning  with  him. ' ' 


An  Interesting  Adventure  149 

They  went  back,  but  when  they  .came  to  the  yard 
the  man  who  lied  to  them  was  no  place  in  sight. 

"Did  you  see  where  those  men  went  who  came 
out  of  this  door  a  little  while  ago?"  they  asked 
of  another  man. 

"Yes,  they  went  down  that  way,"  was  the  an- 
swer, and  the  man  pointed  to  Springville.  They 
walked  towrard  the  town  and  Bob  said,  "I'd  like 
to  get  a  chance  at  that  man  that  told  us  they  went 
down  toward  the  river. ' ' 

They  came  to  the  town  and  looked  around  in  the 
hope  of  finding  the  men.  After  being  assured  of 
the  fact  that  they  could  not,  they  went  into  a 
restaurant  to  eat  their  dinner.  After  eating  they 
went  down  to  the  rowboat  and  met  with  a  great 
surprise.  There  was  a  big  hole  in  the  bottom. 

"They  forgot  to  do  the  same  to  theirs,"  said 
Bob,  "so  we'll  relieve  them  of  it." 

They  got  into  the  rowboat  and  rowed  leisurely 
down  the  river,  each  taking  turns  at  rowing  except 
Bob,  whose  shoulder  prevented.  After  a  two  hours 
row  they  came  upon  New  York.  They  rowed  up 
to  the  shore  and  were  just  fixing  the  boat  where 
the  owner  could  get  it  when  some,  dark  figures 
leaped  out  on  them. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  CAPTURE  OF  MB.  HARDING 

Returning  to  Dick. 

When  our  hero  heard  the  groan  he  was  quick  to 
act.  He  went  down  the  stairs  softly  and  looked 
through  the  window.  The  sight  that  met  his  eyes 
made  him  blink  at  first. 

A  man  was  lying  on  a  couch,  tied  up,  with  blood 
flowing  from  his  leg,  and  a  man  was  looking  into 
a  drawer! 

Dick  tried  to  open  the  door,  only  to  find  it  locked. 
He  crept  around  to  the  back  and  tried  the  windows. 
Just  as  he  was  giving  up  in  despair  he  tried  a  last 
window  and  it  opened  with  a  sharp  creak.  The 
man  inside  looked  toward  the  door  and  his  hand 
sought  his  gun.  As  nothing  happened  he  turned 
back  looking  through  the  drawers.  The  man  that 
was  lying  on  the  couch  also  had  heard  the  creak 
and  looked  around  anxiously.  As  nothing  hap- 
pened he  lost  heart  again. 

Dick  crept  into  the  window  and  softly  came 

150 


Capture  of  Mr.  Harding  151 

across  the  floor.  He  could  see  the  light  in  the 
other  room  through  a  crack  and  softly  opened  the 
door.  The  man 's  back  was  turned  to  him  and  Dick 
advanced  without  being  seen.  Just  as  he  was 
half  way  across  the  room,  and  near  the,  man,  he 
turned  and  stared  at  Dick. 

He  uttered  a  cry  and  looked  for  his  gun.  Just 
then  flashed  through  Dick's  head  of  what  he  knew 
about  football  and  he  advanced  on  a  run.  Just  as 
the  man  was  about  to  shoot  he  was  lifted  from  the 
floor  and  laid  flat.  He  uttered  a  cry  and  tried  to 
rise  but  this  was  prevented  by  Dick  sitting  on  his 
chest.  He  tried  to  shoot  his  gun  but  Dick  wrenched 
it  from  his  hand. 

"Now,  then,  get  up,"  ordered  Dick. 

The  man  arose  with  a  scrowl  on  his  face  and 
then  Dick  said,  "Now  go  over  and  cut  that  man's 
bonds." 

He  just  then  glanced  at  the  man's  face  and 
exclaimed,  "Why,  you're  Mr.  Harding!" 

"Yes,  I'm  Mr.  Harding,"  said  the  man,  "and 
what  about  it?" 

"Go  cut  that  man's  bonds,"  was  the  order  from 
Dick,  who  did  not  take  heed  of  the  man's  last 
remark. 


152        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

Mr.  Harding  went  over  and  whipping  out  his 
knife  cut  the  ropes  that  bound  the  man. 

The  man  rose  and  heartily  shook  hands  with 
Dick,  whose  gun  was  turned  away,  and  Mr.  Hard- 
ing rushed  for  the  door,  unlocked  it,  ran  out,  and 
slammed  the  door  shut  again.  Dick  ran  out  after 
him  with  his  gun  tightly  clutched  in  his  hand. 

Just  as  he  got  out  a  brick  whizzed  over  his  head 
and  Dick  started  in  the  direction  from  where  the 
brick  came.  With  a  leap  he  cleared  the  fence  that 
blocked  his  way  and  saw  Mr.  Harding 's  figure 
outlined  against  the  sky."  The  next  instant  it  dis- 
appeared, but  Dick  knew  that  he  had  gone  over  a 
fence.  He  ran  towards  it  and  was  soon  over.  He 
saw  Mr.  Harding  running  across  a  lot  and  he  fol- 
lowed him. 

"I  wish  it  wasn't  so  dark,"  Dick  muttered  to 
himself.  They  were  soon  in  a  clear  space  and 
Dick  fired  at  the  retreating  figure  of  Mr.  Harding. 
The  bullet  whistled  over  his  head  and  caused  him 
to  cower,  but  in  an  instant  he  was  up  again  and 
ran,  closely  pursued  by  Dick. 

They  came  out  on  the  street  and  Mr.  Harding 
ran  up  this.  He  soon  came  on  an  apparently  de- 
serted building.  Mr.  Harding  ran  imto  this  and 


Capture  of  Mr.  Harding  153 

up  the  winding  stairs  to  the  top  floor.  He  ran  into 
a  room  an  instant  ahead  of  Dick.  It  was  a  flimsy 
door  that  separated  the  two  and  Dick  gave  it  one 
punch  and  it  fell  in.  Mr.  Harding  had  pulled  him- 
self up  to  the  roof  and  Dick  did  the  same.  They 
both  leaped  over  onto  the  next  building,  which 
was  only  the  distance  of  a  couple  of  inches.  Mr. 
Harding  ran  to  the  very  edge  and  looked  over. 

'  *  Do  you  give  up ! ' '  asked  Dick. 

Mr.  Harding  once  more  looked  far  down  into 
the  street  and  then  said  sullenly,  "I  guess  I'll 
have  to." 

With  Mr.  Harding  before  him  Dick  jumped  over 
onto  the  first  building.  Mr.  Harding  went  into  the 
room  first.  Dick  followed  just  in  time  to  see  Mr. 
Harding  disappear  down  the  steps.  He  went  after 
him  and  saw  him  rapidly  moving  up  the  street. 

"I've  got  to  get  him,"  thought  Dick,  with  a 
pounding  of  his  heart.  He  quickened  his  steps 
and  the  two  were  soon  going  along  at  a  great 
speed.  Mr.  Harding  crossed  the  cable  street  line 
and  just  as  Dick  was  about  to  do  the  same  a  cable 
car  came  down  the  street  and  he  had  to  stop.  This 
gave  Mr.  Harding  a  good  lead  and  he  was  nearly 
half  a  block  ahead  when  Dick  started  after  him 


154        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

again.  Mr.  Harding  soon  turned  down  a  side 
street,  and  started  towards  the  fishermen's  huts. 
Dick  hurried  faster  and  gained  slowly. 

They  kept  on  and  soon  the  blue  ocean  once  more 
lay  before  them.  They  kept  along  the  shore  for 
awhile,  and  soon  in  the  distance  they  could  see  the 
fishermen's  huts.  Mr.  Harding  swerved  to  one 
side  and  started  up  a  hill.  On  the  top  was  a  pile 
of  bushes.  Mr.  Harding  gained  these  and  darted 
into  them. 

1  'I  hope  I've  not  lost  him,"  muttered  Dick. 

He  gained  the  top  of  the  hill  a  half  minute  be- 
hind Mr.  Harding  and  darted  into  the  bushes  also. 
He  suddenly  saw  Mr.  Harding  dart  down  the  hill 
again  and  Dick  went  after  him.  They  went  farther 
into  the  fishermen's  huts  and  Mr.  Harding  darted 
into  the  last  one.  He  barred  the  door,  which  was 
a  heavy  one,  and  hard  to  break  in. 

Dick  saw  the  top  of  the  hut  was  covered  with 
loose  shingles  and  he  got  up  there  easily.  He  tore 
aside  a  few  shingles  and  made  a  big  enough  hole 
to  look  through.  He  saw  Mr.  Harding  look  through 
the  window  and  then  mutter  to  himself,  "Those 
kids  ain't  so  smart  as  they  think  they  are;  I've 
thrown  them  off  my  trail." 


Capture  of  Mr.  Harding  155 

He  sat  down  on  a  bed  and  soon  fell  back  and 
lay  down.  As  a  heavy  snore  emerged  from  him, 
Dick  felt  assured  that  he  was  asleep.  He  enlarged 
the  hole  and  softly  dropped  through  to  the  floor. 
He  went  over  to  Mr.  Harding  and  put  the  cold 
barrel  of  the  gun  against  his  temple  and  said 
horsely,  "If  you  make  any  noise  I'll  blow  your 
brains  out." 

Mr.  Harding  got  up  and  walked  out.  As  he 
passed  the  lamp  it  suddenly  fell  and  the  kerosene 
was  sprinkled  over  the  place  and  it  was  soon  in 
a  blaze.  Dick  got  out  safely  and  hurried  away 
with  his  prisoner.  After  a  long  walk  they  reached 
New  York.  Dick  looked  around  for  a  police  sta- 
tion but  could  not  find  one  for  awhile. 

When  he  did  he  brought  his  prisoner  in  before 
the  judge. 


CHAPTER  XX 
A  HAPPY  REUNION 

Returning  to  Bob  and  his  friends. 

When  the  men  leaped  on  Mr.  Pierson  and  the 
boys,  they  thought  at  first  they  were  being  at- 
tacked by  the  men  they  were  after.  All  of  a  sudden 
Mr.  Pierson  gave  a  cry  and  shouted,  "Don't,  these 
are  officers  of  the  law."  When  the  boys  heard 
this  they  were  too  astonished  to  speak  and  were 
soon  tied. 

*  *  Come  with  me, ' '  called  one  of  the  men,  and  the 
boys  were  hustled  along.  They  soon  reached  the 
police  station,  and  were  lined  up  before  the  judge. 
The  ropes  were  cut  that  bound  them  and  they 
stretched  their  legs  and  arms  freely. 

"What  is  the  charge  that  is  brought  against 
these  boys  and  man  f ' '  asked  the  judge. 

"He  stole  my  bpat,"  said  the  man  that  they 
seen  shaking  his  fist  at  them. 

"Why  did  you  take  this  man's  boat?"  asked 
the  judge  severely. 

156 


A  Happy  Reunion  157 

They  told  him  their  story,  and  the  judge  turned 
to  the  man  and  asked,  "Do  you  think  that  their 
story  is  true?" 

"It  may  be  and  it  may  not  be,"  was  the  answer, 
"but  if  it  is  true,  why  didn't  they  come  and  ask 
me  to  lend  it  to  them  ? ' ' 

* '  The  men  would  have  been  gone  by  that  time, ' ' 
answered  Mr.  Pierson. 

Just  then  there  was  a  commotion  at  the  door- 
way and  Dick  came  in  with  Mr.  Harding.  He 
delivered  the  prisoner  over  to  the  judge  and  he 
was  placed  in  jail  after  a  little  investigation. 

Dick  then  turned  to  his  chums  and  asked,  with 
a  laugh,  '  *  How  in  the  world  did  you  get  here  ? ' ' 

They  told  him  and  Dick  laughed  again. 

"I  wish  we  knew  where  that  man  lives  that  we 
did  this  for,"  said  Bob  mournfully. 

"I  know,"  said  Fred,  with  a  laugh;  "it  was  Mr. 
Brown." 

"Mr.  Brown?"  said  Mr.  Pierson;  "how  do  you 
know?" 

"Because  when  Dick  saved  his  daughter  I  had 
a  good  look  at  him. ' ' 

"Do  you  know  Mr.  Brown?"  asked  the  judge, 
who  had  heard  their  conversation. 


158        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  Bob  politely,  "but  not 
very  well. ' ' 

"Well,  if  he  can  prove  you  are  innocent  I'll  let 
you  go,"  was  the  reply. 

"I'll  go  out  and  call  him  up,"  said  Dick,  start- 
ing for  the  door. 

"Stop,  here's  a  phone,"  called  the  judge,  and 
he  pointed  to  one  on  his  desk. 

Dick  went  to  that  and  called  him  up.  They  were 
soon  talking  pleasantly  over  the  phone,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  Dick  hung  up  the  receiver  and  said, 
"He'll  be  down  here  as  soon  as  he  can  get  here." 

After  a  tiresome  half  hour  of  waiting,  a  man 
came  in  and  in  whom  they  had  no  difficulty  in 
recognizing  as  Mr.  Brown.  v 

After  a  little  talk  with  the  judge  he  came  over 
to  the  boys  and  said,  "You  can  come  now." 

As  they  were  passing  out  of  the  door  the  man 
who  had  laid  the  charge  against  them  came  up 
and  said  with  a  sickly  grin,  "I'm  sorry  this  thing 
happened,  and  if  I  had  known  I  wouldn't  have 
done  it." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  said  Bob  good-naturedly, 
"you  never  knew." 

When  they  had  gotten  out  on  the  street  Mr. 


A  Happy  Reunion  159 

Brown  turned  to  them  with  a  smile  and  said,  "I'm 
sorry  I  gave  you  so  much  trouble." 

"That's  all  right,"  answered  George;  "we 
wanted  adventures  and  we  got  what  we  wanted. ' ' 

They  kept  on  talking  and  after  a  little  while 
they  reached  the  hotel. 

"Come  and  see  me  sometimes,"  called  Mr. 
Brown,  as  they  went  into  the  hotel. 

They  had  a  late  dinner  but  ate  heartily.  They 
were  all  sleepy  and  as  soon  as  they  were  un- 
dressed got  in  bed  and  fell  asleep.  Dick  woke 
early  and  could  not  go  back  to  sleep  again,  so  got 
up  and  dressed.'  It  was  only  six  o'clock  and  he 
went  out  for  a  walk  before  breakfast.  As  he  got 
out  he  saw  the  men  they  were  after  walking  down 
the  street. 

* '  I  wonder  where  they  go  all  the  time  instead  of 
staying  at  the  hotel,"  mused  Dick  to  himself;  "I'll 
follow  them. ' ' 

Dick  followed  them  for  awhile  and  then  he  saw 
them  go  into  a  shop  and  then  into  a  back  room. 
Dick  crept  to  the  rear  and  inching  up  cautiously 
soon  came  upon  a  window  where  he  could  look  in 
and  see  what  the  men  were  doing.  He  soon  ob- 
served them  go  into  a  closet  and  bring  out  a  huge 


160        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

box.  They  dragged  this  to  a  bench  and  took  out 
pieces  of  machinery. 

"That's  uncle's  invention  and  they  are  making 
it,"  Dick  said  angrily. 

He  watched  and  saw  them  start  to  fix  a  machine, 
and  eagerly  looked  at  them  for  half  an  hour,  then 
he  started  back  for  the  hotel. 

1 1  Oh,  the  villians, ' '  he  kept  repeating  to  himself. 

He  soon  reached  the  hotel  and  went  up  the  stairs 
two  at  a  time.  He  burst  into  his  room,  waking  all 
his  chums.  He  told  them  what  he  had  seen  and 
they  all  dressed  rapidly. 

"I'm  going  to  get  into  that  shop,"  said  Bob  to 
the  others. 

They  were  soon  dressed  and  went  down  to 
breakfast.  As  soon  as  they  had  finished  they 
rushed  out  and  followed  Dick  to  the  men's  shop. 
They  crept  around  to  the  back  and  saw  the  three 
men  working.  They  watched  them  for  awhile  and 
then  Mr.  Pier  son  said,  "I'm  coming  here  tonight 
and  break  the  confounded  thing  to  pieces." 

"All  I  want  is  the  document,"  said  Bob;  "with- 
out that  they  can't  patent  the  machine." 

The  men  kept  on  working  and  the  boys  started 
away  again. 


A  Happy  Reunion  161 

"I  wonder  what  Sam  and  his  bunch  are  doing?" 
asked  George;  "I'll  bet  they're  not  having  a  good 
time. ' ' 

"Neither  is  his  father,"  chortled  Dick  slyly. 

They  went  back  to  the  hotel  and  the  rest  of  the 
day  passed  without  adventure.  That  night  they 
went  out  and  went  to  the  shop.  It  was  empty. 
They  went  around  to  the  back  and  broke  a  window 
and  went  in  through  it.  Mr.  Pierson  had  a  search- 
light and  this  gave  them  light.  They  found  the 
closet  and  got  down  the  box.  They  took  off  the 
cover,  and  when  they  touched  the  ma-chine  there 
was  a  loud  crack  and  then  a  deafening  roar ! 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  DOCUMENT  EECOVEBED 

As  the  deafening  roar  came  the  boys  were  ail 
thrown  to  the  floor.  The  machine  was  broken  to 
pieces,  and  the  boys  were  glad  of  that.  They  all 
rose  except  Fred. 

' '  I  wonder  what 's  the  matter  with  Fred  I ' '  asked 
George. 

Mr.  Pierson  bent  over  him  and  then  gave  a  cry 
of  distress.  The  boys  bent  over  and  soon  saw 
what  was  the  matter,  for  a  big  piece  of  the  machine 
had  lodged  in  his  scalp.  Mr.  Pierson  brought  out 
his  knife  and  after  a  close  examination  managed 
to  cut  it  out.  As  he  cut  it  out  Fred  gave  a  low 
moan  of  anguish.  They  lifted  him  up  gently  and 
started  out,  when  Dick  called  them  and  said, 
'  *  There 's  a  big  crowd  of  people  outside  and  those 
three  men  are  with  them." 

' l  Then  we  can 't  go  out  that  way, ' '  said  Mr.  Pier- 
son,  with  anxiety,  "so  we'll  have  to  go  out  this 
way,"  and  he  pointed  towards  the  window.  George 

162 


The  Document  Recovered  163 

and  Dick  clambered  out  and  Mr.  Pierson  and  Bob 
gave  Fred  to  them.  Mr.  Pierson  climbed  out  and 
looked  around  for  Bob,  but  he  was  over  at  the 
closet. 

"Hurry  up!"  he  yelled. 

Bob  grabbed  something  and  ran  towards  the 
window.  Just  as  he  got  out  there  was  a  trampling 
in  the  other  room  and  they  knew  that  the  people 
had  come  in.  They  carried  Fred  and  got  him  out 
in  the  street  without  being  discovered  and  started 
for  the  hotel.  They  soon  reached  it  and  got  Fred 
up  to  their  room  without  any  questions  being 
asked,  although  many  of  the  boarders  stared  at 
them. 

After  a  little  care  Fred  opened  his  eyes  and 
stared  around.  "Why,  how  did  I  get  here!"  he 
asked,  bewildered. 

"We  brought  you  here,"  grinned  Dick. 

After  a  little  while  he  was  able  to  stand  up. 

* '  One  bad  thing  about  this  is  that  we  never  got 
the  document,"  said  George,  with  a  wry  face. 

1 1  Oh,  don 't  be  so  sure  that  we  never  got  it, ' '  said 
Bob  with  a  laugh;  "look  at  this!"  and  before  the 
eyes  of  the  astonished  group  he  held  up  the  miss- 
ing document. 


164        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

"Why,  how  did  you  get  that!"  asked  Dick. 

"I  got  it  just  when  we  started  to  leave,"  said 
Bob.  "I  was  over  at  the  closet  when  Mr.  Pierson 
called  me  and  then  I  found  it." 

The  boys  hurried  out  at  once  and  sent  the  fol- 
lowing telegram  to  Mrs.  Morris:  "Have  recov- 
ered document — we'll  be  home  Monday." 

They  came  to  their  room  and  then  heard  the  men 
come  in  under  them.  They  rushed  to  the  crack 
and  looked  through.  They  could  see  the  men  sit- 
ting in  chairs  with  scrowls  on  their  faces. 

"They  don't  feel  very  happy,"  said  Dick  with 
a  snicker.  They  kept  on  watching  and  then  they 
saw  the  men  suddenly  get  to  quarreling.  Sud- 
denly one  of  them  pulled  a  gun  and  pointing  it  at 
the  two  pulled  the  trigger.  The  boys  sprang  up 
with  horrified  glances  on  their  faces.  They  rushed 
down  to  the  room  and  saw  the  man  bending  over 
his  two  wounded  pals  and  he  was  rifling  their 
pockets. 

All  the  boarders  had  rushed  to  the  room  and 
were  looking  in.  The  boys  edged  their  way 
through  and  went  into  the  room.  The  man  glanced 
up  and  on  seeing  the  boys  uttered  an  oath  and 
dashed  for  them.  The  boys  were  unprepared  for 


The  Document  Recovered  165 

this  and  they  were  thrown  aside.  The  man  dashed 
through  the  crowd  and  ran  downstairs. 

The  man  had  let  his  pistol  drop,  and  Dick  had 
grabbed  it  and  handed  it  to  Mr.  Pierson.  They 
dashed  off  after  the  man,  who  was  now  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs. 

"Stop  him!"  yelled  Bob  to  two  men  who  were 
just  coming  in. 

The  men  blocked  the  robber's  way,  but  fear 
added  strength  to  the  man,  who  with  a  powerful 
blow  of  his  hand  knocked  the  others  flat.  He 
dashed  out  and  went  down  the  street  closely  pur- 
sued by  the  boys.  They  rushed  on  and  suddenly 
the  bandit  turned  down  a  side  street,  and  before 
them  the  boys  saw  a  policeman. 

* '  Stop  that  man ! ' '  they  called  out  loudly. 

The  policeman  on  seeing  him  ran  up  and  swiftly 
had  him  collared.  As  the  boys  came  up  they  told 
their  story,  and  the  man  was  brought  back  to  the 
hotel.  He  was  quickly  proved  guilty  and  the  boys 
went  back  to  their  room.  They  undressed  and 
went  to  bed.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  all  sound 
to  sleep. 

The  next  day  passed  with  nothing  happening, 
and  the  day  after  that — which  was  Sunday — the 


166        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

boys  went  to  see  Mr.  Brown.  They  had  a  pleasant 
time  and  they  went  to  the  hotel  late  at  night.  They 
slept  soundly  and  woke  early  the  next  morning. 
They  went  to  the  station  and  got  tickets  for  Spen- 
cerville.  In  a  half  hour  they  were  riding  toward 
home.  They  were  met  at  the  station  by  Bob's 
mother,  who  had  a  small  carriage  with  her.  They 
all  piled  in  and  drove  off  to  the  farm. 

"How's  father?"  asked  Bob,  after  they  had 
gotten  in. 

"He  can  sit  up  now,  but  he  won't  be  wholly  well 
for  a  long  while,"  was  the  reply,  "and  he  wants 
to  see  you. ' ' 

The  boys  went  upstairs  and  there  they  saw  Mr. 
Morris  propped  up  on  a  pillow  reading  a  maga- 
zine. When  he  saw  them  he  laid  it  aside  and 
asked,  "Well,  boys,  did  you  get  it?" 

"We  always  get  what  we  go  after,"  laughed 
Bob,  "and  I  want  you  to  meet  Mr.  Pierson,  who 
helped  us  get  it. ' ' 

Mr.  Pierson  advanced,  and  when  Mr.  Morris 
saw  him  he  gave  a  start. 

"Why,  Bill!"  he  exclaimed;  "we  haven't  seen 
each  other  for  a  long  time." 

They  shook  hands  warmly  and  the  boys  stood 


The  Document  Recovered  167 

/ 

aside,  and  wondered  where  the  two  had  met  be- 
fore. The  doctor  came  soon  and  the  boys  had  to 
leave.  When  they  got  out  of  the  room  the  boys 
asked,  "Where  have  you  met  father  before?" 

"You'll  soon  find  out,"  replied  Mr.  Pierson,  his 
eyes  twinkling,  "and  when  you  do  you'll  have 
adventures  enough." 

The  boys  dismissed  this  and  nothing  happened 
for  a  couple  of  days,  but  one  day  Mr.  Pierson  came 
to  the  house  early  and  went  upstairs  to  Mr.  Morris ' 
room.  He  stayed  there  for  awhile  and  when  he 
came  down  again  his  face  was  a  study.  When  he 
saw  the  boys  his  face  suddenly  cleared,  and  com- 
ing up  to  them  he  said,  with  a  smile,  "You  wanted 
to  know,  Bob,  where  your  father  and  myself  met 
before. 

"Come  upstairs  and  you'll  soon  find  out." 


CHAPTER  XXII 
CONCLUSION 

The  boys  were  more  than  willing  to  go  up  to 
hear  about  it  and  they  followed  Mr.  Pierson  in 
breathless  silence.  They  went  into  the  room,  where 
Mr.  Morris  was  waiting  for  them.  As  they  entered 
he  turned  on  them  and  said : 

"Well,  boys,  I  don't  want  to  get  you  into  any 
trouble,  but  I  know  you  like  adventures,  and  I'll 
give  you  some.  You  probably  want  to  know  where 
Mr.  Pierson  and  myself  met.  It  was  at  my  mine 
in  Montana.  We  first  met  when  he  got  a  job  from 
me.  He  was  faithful  and  soon  I  let  him  have  a 
half  interest  in  the  mine. 

"There  was  another  man  there  called  Mike 
Martin,  a  regular  villian.  He  was  the  foreman 
of  the  mine,  and  when  I  left  for  awhile  he  got  all 
the  men  against  me,  so  that  when  I  came  back  I 
was  driven  away.  Mr.  Pierson  stuck  by  me  in 
it  all. 

"Now,  boys,  you  don't  need  to  go,  but  I  want 

168 


Conclusion  169 

you  to.  Go  to  Montana  with  Mr.  Pierson  and 
help  me  get  my  mine  back.  Will  you  go!" 

The  boys  were  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then 
Mr.  Morris  said,  "I'll  give  you  one  week  for  your 
answer. ' ' 

The  boys  went  out  of  the  room  like  someone  in 
a  dream.  Mr.  Pierson  followed  and  asked  pleas- 
antly, "Well,  boys,  how  about  it?" 

"We  don't  know  yet,"  stammered  Fred;  "we 
want  adventures  but  we  don't  know  what  to  make 
of  this." 

"I  have  my  answer  now,"  said  Bob,  with  a 
laugh;  "it's  'yes.'  " 

"Same  here,"  replied  Dick. 

* '  Boys,  don 't  make  any  agreements  that  you  will 
be  sorry  for  later,"  implored  Mr.  Pierson;  "take 
a  week  for  your  answer — there  are  many  dangers 
you'll  have  to  go  through." 

' '  Then  we  '11  take  time, ' '  said  Bob,  "  but  I  '11  help 
father  any  time. ' ' 

"I'm  sure  you  will,"  said  Mr.  Pierson,  smiling. 

The  boys  went  out  and  then  George  turned  on 
his  chums  and  asked,  "What  do  you  make  of 
this?" 

"It  all  seems  funny  to  me,"  said  Fred,  "but  if 


170        In  the  Shadow  of  Great  Peril 

Bob  and  Dick  are  going,  I'm  with  them." 

"So  am  I,"  said  George  warmly. 

They  walked  around  for  awhile,  and  while  they 
talked  about  other  things  it  was  plain  their  minds 
were  elsewhere.  It  was  on  the  mine.  They  came 
home  at  noon  and  ate  a  hearty  meal.  That  after- 
noon they  went  out  once  more,  but  nothing  of 
importance  happened.  The  next  morning  George 
stretched  out  and  said  with  a  yawn,  "I  wish  there 
were  some  adventures;  this  is  too  dry  for  me." 

"We'll  have  adventures  enough  when  we  get  to 
Montana,"  said  Bob,  and  this  was  to  prove  right 
later. 

"Then  you  intend  to  go?"  asked  Fred;  "then 
it 's  the  same  here. ' ' 

Nothing  happened  for  awhile,  but  one  day  as 
the  boys  were  discussing  the  mine  Dick  nudged  his 
friends  and  asked,  "Do  you  see  that  man  back 
there?  He's  been  following  us  all  the  time,  and 
has  been  listening  to  all  we  said." 

"I'll  go  back  and  see  what  he  is  doing,"  said 
Bob,  "and  what  he  is  about." 

The  man  saw  him  coming  and  started  away  on 
a  run.  All  the  boys  ran  after  him,  but  the  man 
cleverly  managed  to  get  away. 


Conclusion  171 

"I'm  going  to  tell  father  about  this,"  said  Bob, 
as  he  started  for  home. 

He  soon  reached  it,  and  started  for  Mr.  Morris ' 
room.  They  saw  him  lying  down  on  his  bed  and 
they  told  him  about  it.  He  appeared  grave  for  a 
moment  and  then  said,  "Well,  boys,  if  you  are 
going,  you'll  start  tomorrow." 

"And  we're  going,"  echoed  all  the  boys. 

Their  things  were  packed,  then  followed  a  rest- 
less night.  Early  next  morning  they  were  met  by 
Mr.  Pierson  and  the  group  started  for  the  station 
immediately.  Mrs.  Morris  had  gone  to  the  station 
to  see  them  off,  and  as  the  train  rolled  out  she 
called, ' '  Good-by,  boys ! ' ' 

And  now  let  me  say  good-by  to  my  readers  until 
we  meet  these  fine,  brave  American  boys  and 
Miss  Alice,  who  will  figure  in  many  thrilling 
episodes  in  the  pages  of  my  next  book,  entitled 
"The  Heavy  Hand  of  Justice." 

THE  ENB. 


/MAP.C-H     SL  y-rH,     Mao.     PHILADELPHIA 


UC  SOUnOH  RKONJL  UBSS51  FJgUTr 


A    000  029  950     3 


